The Academy
by Personification of Fluff
Summary: last part up. Milliardo is back, and he and Noin need to talk about their realtionship. However, both of them can't bring themselves to ask each other about it.
1. The Meeting

Hiyaa! This is Zechs and Noin fan fic! It's all about their relationship, past, and present! It begins at the end of GW, and goes to.. To.. I don't yet! But at least to the end of EW! I don't home Gundam Wing or the Victoria Academy or nothing... Why can't I own Zechs??? *lawyers waves legal documents* Not even his voice?.... *legal documents* Oh..... Noin's, one lucky girl! Why can't I be Noin? *legal documents* I get the point!

  
  


~~~~~

  
  
  
  
  
  


Noin couldn't believe that she was staring at the gravestone for the man she loved, the man she knew was alive. "Zechs... Milliardo... I won't ask where you've gone, but please come to me." she whispered, as the wind blew lightly across her face. It was a beautiful September day, just like the first day she'd met Zechs.

  
  


~~~~

  
  


The sun had been shining that too, warm and bright. Noin could feel the warmth from it on her skin, and the wind in her hair. It was her first day at the Lake Victoria Academy, and she hoped that she'd be seeing more days like this one. She'd like spending the next four years here. Yes, she would indeed. 'I'll do this! I will get through the Academy, and I'll be able to pilot a Mobile Suit, as well as see Outer space!' she promised herself.

  
  


"Girl!" someone yelled at her. She turned to see a ruly looking red hair and some more males coming. They all wore the colours of the first-years. "Get off our base! You're never going to make it because you're weak, so you might as well go home now, while your Mommy is still around!" he taunted.

  
  


She balled her fists. "Are you insulting my Mother!?" she yelled, getting defensive. Noin didn't like fighting, and she sure as hell didn't want to start her first day here off with a fight, but she would if they pushed her! "Don't make me demonstrate what girls can do!"

  
  


"Bitch!" he teased further."Slut! That's what you are after all, one of the few girls on the base. You don't want to learn, you just want to sleep around to get your claim to fame!"

  
  


"I don't want fame! I just want to see Outer space! And you just watch me!" she admitted angrily. 

  
  


"You will never be able to see Outer space, little girl. They will get rid of you long before them, all because you will never be able to amount to anything. They'll send you home for being stupid." 

  
  


"Are you trying to intimidate me, you little fuck? I don't think so. I know what I will be able to do, and you won't be able to stop me. You better just run home to *your* Mommy right now. Tell her, next time to teach you some manners. Or better yet, maybe she should just get herself a real man and stop fucking with pigs." Noin threatened, advancing on him. She was getting really pissed now. 

  
  


He simply smiled, and drew back his right arm, and punched her squarely in her right eye. She jumped back, shocked. She had been punched before, but she was surprised that he had done it so carelessly, so unemotionally. He didn't look angry at all. The read head turned and smiled at his friends. "See? She will fail. She is a female, and she has no control over her emotions." 

  
  


Noin growled at him, and went in for the kill. She beat the leaving daylights out of the little shit! She'd teach him how weak woman are! A cool hand on her shoulder stopped up. She froze, fearing she'd turn around and see a teacher looming over her disapprovingly. Instead, she saw another guy. 'Not another one to fight!' she complained. 

  
  


The new boy had long blond hair, and was wearing a mask, obscuring his face, but Noin assumed that he was about her age because he was also wearing the colours of a first year. He didn't make a move hurt her, and was instead looking toward the red hair and his friends. "I don't share your beliefs, Once. You see, I believe a woman's ability to express her feelings is an asset. Perhaps if you expressed your own once in awhile, you wouldn't be here getting your ass kicked by a girl's name calling, even with five more guys to back you up."

  
  


Once and the new boy glared at each other, but Noin could see that it wasn't worth the fight. The new boy had them beaten easily. Once and the others backed away quietly. The new boy smiled down to Noin. "Hi there. Want me to show you where the washrooms are, so you can freshen up before you have to report to class?" he asked her gently.

  
  


She smiled back, and winced. She'd really gotten hit good. Noin could feel it already starting to swell. "Yes, thank you. My name is Lucretzia Noin." 

  
  


"I'm Zechs Marquise." he introduced, leading her to the washroom. "Don't worry about Once, he won't bother you again, Noin. Those guys are all scared of me. I'm sorry to have stopped you from beating them up, but you couldn't handle all six on your own, and then you would have come to class looking like a grape." 

  
  


In the washroom, Noin looked herself over in the mirror. She splashed some water on her eye. It really was starting to look like a grape. She frowned, wanting to hide it. There had to be someway she could cover it up.... Noin smiled and pulled out her little handy cob from her pocket. Her hair, which had been before in a part straight down her side, was soon going to help her. She used the comb to make a new part in the side, punching all her bangs over to cover her bruised eye. 

  
  


Ta-da! She walked out into the hallway, once again confident, and happy. Zechs was leaning against the wall, waiting for her. "Where do I go now?" she asked.

  
  


Zechs flicked her bangs. "Smart idea. Looks good." he complimented, making Noin blush, and respond with 'I guess I'll have to wear it like this from now on, then.' before Zechs continued. "Now, we go to class. We'll be in the same one. I'm glad. It'll be interesting having you there, and now I'll have a friend, if you don't mind me, that is."

  
  


Noin smiled brightly, pausing to look up at the sky through a window. "I don't mind at all. I'd enjoy having a friend in my class as well." Even with her hair the way it was, she could still see the sun shining brightly, and the warmth on her skin. Noin sighed, and turned back to following her new friend. 'It really is a beautiful day.' 


	2. April Fool's!

  
  
  
  


Noin stared out the window from the Preventer base. She could hear Lady Une walk up behind her. "Noin, how have you done it?" she asked quietly. Noin turned to look at the lady standing before her, a pain so deep in her eyes that Quatre would have been hurt withing a kilometre of her, and long brown hair that stood still despite the fact that her body was shaking. "I know that Trieze is dead, and everybody thinks that Zechs is dead, except for you, and possibly the Gundam Pilots. How could you have done it? For two years now, you've kept your head about you, never once giving into the impression that he may be dead, and you may never see him again. How?..."

  
  


She smiled, looking down at the ground several stories below her. "I know in my heart that he's alive. That's all I need to know." she paused. "And if you think that I never gave into the impression that he's dead, then you weren't looking hard enough. But those moments are fleeting, even if they seem like an eternity at the time. One day, Milliardo will come back to me." Noin looked up at the setting sun, smiling brightly. "He always does...."

  
  


Lady Une left without a sound, leaving Noin back in her thoughts. 'Milliardo, I miss you. Wherever you are, do you miss me too? I forgive you for everything you've done, you know that...'

  
  


A blond head walked by underneath the building. He barely looked up. "Noin..." Milliardo Peacecraft kept walking by, pausing only momentarily. 'I know you forgive me.' He told her, slipping deep down into his memories.

  
  


~~~~~

  
  


Zechs Marquise only had two real friends at the base. Noin, in his own grade, and Trieze, who was two years ahead of him. He was an acquaintance with Une, but Zechs didn't really know her that well. Although he usually spent most of his time with Noin, every once in awhile he would spend time with the guys.

  
  


He sat in Trieze's room, thinking, as the other guys around him laughed heartily, and armed themselves with cans of silly string, water balloons, squirt guns, and other such items. He didn't like the idea of playing tricks on the female members and the instructors, and he knew that Trieze didn't really approve either. He just wanted to see Une's room, no doubt. 

  
  


"C'mon Zechs! You've gotta do it! Are you chicken?" One of Trieze's friends asked. 

  
  


"My dear Zechs." Trieze started. "It's not a matter of wether you want to or not. Some things must be done, wether or not we feel like it. This is one of those things. Besides, it's also the first of April, a time of merriment and trick playing. Zechs, be brave, and join in those times."

  
  


Even though he still disapproved, Zechs nodded, and armed himself. Trieze's words seemed to almost have cast a spell on him. He knew that his older friend would be in great power one day, and that his words would be the cause of that power. 

  
  


~~~~~~

Noin shook her head. "Une, I don't want to do it."

  
  


"Are you disobeying my orders, Cadet Noin?" Une asked angrily, shaking the bottle of silly string in front of Noin's face.

  
  


"No, Une."

  
  


"Then do it! Your mission is to spray Cadet Marquise's rooms!" 

  
  


"I accept." Noin said, saluting. Une kinda scared her, and she knew one day she'd get her back. One day. Even if she was a bit power mad, she knew that it was mostly just something to get Trieze's attention. As if her looks weren't enough, let alone that knife sharp mind. 

  
  


~~~~~

  
  


Zechs paused at the door. He had never actually seen Noin's quarters before. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a bobby pin that had previously been in Une's hair, and started picking at the lock. 

  
  


~~~~~

  
  


She reached for the lock and chewed her lip nervously. Une had told Noin that Zechs wouldn't be in his room, but how could she be sure? Noin turned the knob and heard it click. The door was unlocked. 'That must mean he's home! Zechs wouldn't leave the door unlocked! Would he? He's male, after all, as well as being secretive....'

  
  


Noin peeked into the room. She was a bit surprised to see how meticulous it was, but that figured. Zechs wouldn't be one to be messy. She really didn't want to mess up his rooms...

  
  


~~~~~

  
  


'Noin's a pig!' Zechs thought to himself, as he looked around at the clutter that covered everything. There was clothing all over the room, as well as empty chocolate bar wrappers, cans of pop, exercise equipment, and, to Zechs' horror and pleasure at the same time: Noin's bra had been carelessly thrown across the room unto the lampshade! 

  
  


He picked up the bra, and rubbed it between his fingers. 'Cotton. That's sensible old Noin alright. Even if I use up this entire bottle of silly string, she wouldn't even notice.' Zechs absent mindedly shoved the bra into his pocket, before greedily rubbing his hands. 'Well, then, let's clean up!'

  
  


~~~~

  
  


Running a finger down Zech's headboard, Noin inspected it. Not a speck of dust. "I used to wonder what Zechs did in his spare time..." she though to herself out loud. "And now I know, and it's just plain sad." She sat down in Zech's bed, holding her chin in her hand, not realizing that sitting there made her blush a bit more. "Well now what am I supposed to do?"

  
  


~~~~

  
  


It didn't take Zechs long to clean up Noin's room, even if it was a mess. He watched the trash pile up, full of pop bottles and chocolate bar wrappers, as well as some pizza containers, with the crusts still in them. "So Noin doesn't like the crusts of pizza... and she has quite a sweet tooth. I wonder where she hides them all." He had quite an inkling for sugar right now as well. 

  
  


Zechs went straight to the night stand. "If I was Noin, I'd put them right here. That way, they would be there right when I woke up." he told himself, opening up the drawer. Behold, before him lay a small fortune in brown gold. "Success!" he picked up a chocolate bar, and ripped into it eagerly. The chocolate was melting in his mouth when Zech's eyes fell upon something else. A gold lock, complete with the key beside it. 

  
  


"What the hell? Noin locks her room, and then leaves her key to her diary right beside it? She must believe that nobody would be able to get past her door." he mused, picking it up. "I really shouldn't.... I mean, that's an invasion of privacy, but I did already break into her room." Zechs paused a moment more, before picking up the diary. 

  
  


Flipping to the last entry in the book, Zechs started reading.

  
  


April First,

  
  


Yeah April Fool's day. I know that Une is going to try to make me do something today, and I know that is going to involve Zechs. I'm definitely worried about it. I mean, I don't want to have to do anything to Zechs, but I don't want to be rejected by the older girls at the school. 

I should have suspected that Une would choose Zechs for me to pick on today. Is it really that obvious? I suppose that it's obvious to everyone except Zechs how much I admire him, but that's just the way life goes, isn't it?

  
  


There is one thing I should say, though. That voice of his. Oh, I could listen to his voice forever! Yesterday he had to give his speech to the class, and I wished that period could have gone on forever! It's so deep, and there's so much intelligence in there.... But that makes sense, he's the best in our class! And besides, he's my best friend. I mean, what would a best friend be if she couldn't even stand listening to their friends talk?

  
  
  
  


Zechs stopped reading, when he heard the door bang open. He looked up, to see Noin in the hallway, looking pissed off and glowering at him. "Did you *pick* my *lock* Zechs Marquise?" 

  
  


He suddenly realized how he must look. He was laying down on her bed, relaxing comfortably, a chocolate bar stuffed in his mouth as he gnawed on it with his teeth, and her diary in his hands. He hastily put the book down, and took the chocolate bar out of his mouth. "Um.. Yes, Noin, I did."

  
  


"Well why the hell did you...." she paused, letting her anger fly away as she looked around her room. "Did you clean my room?" 

  
  


"Yes, I did that too. Really, Noin, I was quite surprised. I thought you'd be more neater."

  
  


"It's called organized chaos, Zechs. You cleaned my room. I don't believe it." she pointed down to the floor and spoke with what Zechs hoped was mock enthusiasm. "Hey, look! I have a carpet! And it's blue! Anyway, why did you come in my room?"

  
  


"Because I was supposed to cover it in silly string." he told her, handing her the can. 

  
  


She graciously took the can, wheels turning in her head. "I see... so, you were supposed to cover my room in silly string, and instead, because you found my room so repulsive, you took it upon yourself to clean it. After that, you had worked up an appetite, and seeing as how you saw how much candy I have, you went snooping for it. Obviously finding it." she added wiping some chocolate away from his mouth. "There, you also found my diary, and read it. That was just despicable, Zechs, truly pathetic and dishonourable. So, the question is, what am I going to do with you?" 

  
  


"Let me go?" he suggested shyly. 

  
  


"Go? No!" Noin looked horrified. "I have you in my quarters, Zechs, and I'm not going to let you leave." She ran to the door and locked it, before turning back to Zechs. "How far did you get in my diary? What did you see? What did you read?" 

  
  


"I read half of the last entry you wrote." Zechs answered truthfully. He suddenly had pictures pop up of Noin making him strip naked for punishment. Or making him stay the night in her bed. Maybe she would keep him tied to the bed for the rest of his life. On the other hand, maybe she'd dress him up in the bra he stole. Now that would be uncomfortable! 

  
  


"What was in there?"

  
  


"Nothing, really."

  
  


"Fine then. I forgive you for breaking into my room, and I forgive you for reading my diary, or for organizing my organized chaos. However, there is one thing I can't forgive you for." she narrowed her eyes. "Get back on the bed, Zechs." 

  
  


"Excuse me!??" he yelled, his glass eye slits in his mask suddenly fogging up at her unexpected command. 

  
  


"I said, get back on the bed Zechs." She looked down at his, waist adding with a wave. "I also forgive you for abducting my favourite bra, Zechs. Now, on the bed." behind her back, she shook up the can of silly string. 

  
  


Zechs sat back on the bed, looking up at Noin curiously. "Now what?"

  
  


Noin smiled seductively. "Now..." she pulled out her weapon and sprayed it point blank at Zechs. "String fight!" 

  
  


He laughed, backing away, holding up his hands to defend himself as blue silly string wound itself around his front. "But I'm not armed!" he protested. 

  
  


She threw him her own bottle of blue silly string. "Happy? Good! Always remember, that I forgive you for anything you may do, Zechs, and I hope you'll do the same." she told him in a rush, as she pulled on his black sweat pants' string, squirting the silly string straight down. 


	3. Mid-terms

  
  
  
  


"Attention citizens of Earth!" Noin's head snapped around, to see the tv that had been playing quietly, in the back corner of her office. It was now showing a young girl talking. She looked no more then seven or eight, and she was addressing the entire population of earth. "We have Relena Peacecraft."

  
  


'Relena??' Noin stared at the television, horrified. 'Relena's been kidnapped?'

  
  


~~~~~~

  
  


Outside the window, snow feel gracefully, giving the cold December day an almost warm feeling. Noin picked up a card and read, putting it back and choosing another.

  
  


"A Christmas card?" someone asked behind her. Noin smiled, knowing it was Zechs'. "Who are you going to send that to?"

  
  


Noin pulled out an envelope after choosing which one she wanted. "For my family. I may not have enough money to buy them all Christmas gifts, but I can still send them a card, and a nice letter, telling them how I'm doing. After all, I'm afraid I won't be able to make it back this year. Actually, my family doesn't want me back because one of my brothers has the flu, and they don't want me to catch it." she told him. "Don't you have a family you want to send a card to? A brother? A sister?"

  
  


Even though Zechs' face was half hidden, Noin could see by his body language that she'd struck a nerve. Zechs toyed with a fringe from some decorations by the cashier. 'Should I tell her? She's trustworthy.' "I.... I had a sister once. She was a very sweet girl, from what I can remember..." 

  
  


She looked up at him apologetically as they walked out of the card store, into the snow. "What happened to her?" she asked, fearing the answer.

  
  


Zechs looked down at Noin, walking beside him. The hair fell and sparkled in her dark hair. Did she really deserve to hear it? He couldn't tell her! He just couldn't! He couldn't tell his best friend the dark secrets of his past. "She died. She passed away when I was very little. But still, she was very strong." 

  
  


Noin slipped her hand into Zechs'. "Your sister, what was her name?"

  
  


"Relena." 

  
  


"I think, that Relena's a very pretty name. And I imagine that if she had a brother like you, then she must have been pretty for that pretty name." she told him. "Thank you for trusting me Zechs." Noin suddenly leaned against his arm and sighed. "Isn't Christmas a pretty time? I could stand out here forever, just watching the snow fall!"

  
  


"But you have your eyes closed." he pointed out. 

  
  


"I know. But I can see the snow on the inside of my eyelids, and I feel it against me." She stopped suddenly and stuck out her tongue, letting a snowflake land there. Noin giggled and did it again. 

  
  


Zechs stared in shock. Noin was giggling. *Giggling*! Like some school girl! He'd never thought he'd live to see it. It was a bit disturbing. 

  
  


"What?" she asked innocently.

  
  


He shook his head slowly, snow falling off of it in waves. "I just can't believe that the same person who beats up all the other guys in our grade is laughing like some schoolgirl in love over the snow she's catching with her tongue!"

  
  


"Just because I'm a girl and act like it, doesn't mean I won't beat you up!" she warned him. 

  
  


"You couldn't..." he started, before Noin suddenly pushed him in the snowbank. He immediately sunk into the cold snow almost all the way up to his waist. They'd had a record snowfall that year. He picked himself out of it, as Noin stood laughing. He gathered some snow and packed it together tightly, throwing the ball straight at Noin.

  
  


The snowball landed right by her neck, and went straight down her jacket, making her squeal. "Oh, cold! Oh cold, cold, cold!!" She jumped up and down, waiting for the snow to melt, before she started towards Zechs. "That was low! Putting snow down a girls's shirt!" 

  
  


"But, it was an accident!" he tried to excuse himself. "I was aiming for your face!" Seeing she wasn't going to forgive him, she was in too playful a mood, he reached and grabbed her the moment she was within arm's reach and threw her down into the snowbank. 

  
  


Noin squirmed, and gave a fake scream. "You're going to get my Christmas card wet!" she complained. 

  
  


Zechs pushed her farther into the snow. "Then I'll buy you a new one!" He smiled down at her. "Give up!" he suggested, successful at having pinned her in the snowbank. Noin just stuck out her tongue. "That was rude, Miss Lucretzia Noin. Someone going to the Victoria Academy should be more polite then that!"

  
  


"Someone going to the Victoria Academy should also not be throwing snow down girl's shirts!" 

  
  


He opened his mouth the say something, but Zechs was cut off by the sounding of a bell, from the church just beyond the corner. "It's two o'clock... why does that mean something to me?"

  
  


"Two!?" Noin shut up straight, her eyes brimming over with excitement. "That's when the mid-term marks go up!" 

  
  


~~~~~

  
  


Everybody seemed to have already left for vacation, by the time Zechs and Noin got back to the Academy. They ran all the way there, and straight to the Announcement board inside the school. Neither of them could contain themselves, but at the board, neither of them wanted to look. How badly had they done??

  
  


"We studied real hard for Mid-terms." Zechs pointed out. "A lot. Together. Both of us knew the material."

  
  


"Yeah... I know. How bout this? You tell me what I got, I tell you what you got?" Noin asked. Zechs promptly agreed. Noin turned to look at the board, and scanned through the names, quickly going to the M's. They had arranged the scores alphabetically, and not by grades, she was glad to notice. She didn't want to see her name near the bottom. "Zechs Marquise.... You got a ninety five!! Ninity five, Zechs!" Noin flung her arms around her friend's neck. "Congratulations! I knew you could do it!" 

  
  


Zechs could feel himself blush, and he hugged Noin back, spinning her around so he could see the board, and her back was turned to it. "Thanks Noin. Let's see how badly you didn't do." he teased. Zechs read, and didn't say a thing. He was too busy staring in shock.

  
  


Noin waited for an answer. "Zechs? Hello, Zechs?" She buried her face in his shoulder. "This isn't funny! Oh, God, I didn't... I knew... I always felt so confident going into tests and I always came out doing worse then I thought... I... I'm going to have to leave, aren't?" she asked, feeling herself start to cry.

  
  


"Nintey eight." 

  
  


"What?" Noin looked up at him.

  
  


"You got a ninety eight, Noin." Zechs smiled down at her. "You beat me." 

  
  


Noin stared at her mark, before turning to Zechs, anger burning in her dark blue eyes, hiding pools of pride and happiness. "That was even cheaper then throwing snow down my shirt, Zechs! Making me think I failed!" she started crying suddenly. "I made it! I beat the pants off of all those guys that said I couldn't make it! If I flunked out at mid term, I'd be screwed, but I didn't! I passed! I nearly aced it, Zechs! If I keep it up, I can really go out into outer space, and I owe it all to you! You're my best friend, and you helped me through it!" she cried.

  
  


Zechs didn't know what to do, but he could feel himself being swallowed by emotion for her. She looked so beautiful standing there, snow still in her dark hair, eyes happy as she cried, her cheeks flushed, proud and tall, emotional, and telling him that it was because of him she'd made it this far. 

  
  


Smiling, he held her close, wiping away her tears. "No, you would have done it without me. You did it all, Noin, you really did."


	4. The Camping Trip

  
  
  
  


Zechs stood where he had been five minutes. Neither him, nor Noin, had moved an inch since he walked in the door. He didn't know what to say to her. Zechs had been thinking of this moment for the two years he'd been gone, and he still didn't know how to start. Words all seemed hollow. 

  
  


Noin finally managed to swallow. "Zechs. Or, rather, Milliardo Peacecraft." she corrected herself, laughing. "I was wondering when you'd come back to me. People told me I was crazy."

  
  


"As I recall, they always were calling you names." he paused, feeling uncomfortable. "Noin, I'm sorry I left. But I needed some time to think, reflect, by myself. I at least could have let you know how I was doing..." 

  
  


"That's alright Zechs." she interrupted, walking over to him, and placing her hand on his arm. "I understand completely. You don't need to explain yourself to me. I know that once upon a time, I would have asked, but not now. Now, I'm just happy to have you back." she blushed, tacking on "Here on Earth." to the end.

  
  


~~~~

  
  


Every March, the second year students all had to go on a camping trip with only a few supplies. This was an exercise to prove that they could handle themselves in any situation. The students went in groups of two, which caused problems this year. The teams were in case of a severe emergency, and to have someone to talk to for the three days they would be gone for. They were, after all, only second years. They still had two more years to go.

  
  


The problem was the fact that there only one girl in this particular year's class. It had been debated over if she should go with a one-year, or one of the fourth-year girls, but Noin's instructor had turned these suggestions, saying that she'd be paired of with Zechs. The instructor pointed out that pairing other girls with Noin may evoke harsh feelings on Noin's part as they were either older or younger, and make her feel singled out from the boys, as well as the fact that a soldier had to be prepared for all scenarios, and one shouldn't let a thing like the fact that they were opposite sexes get in the way of work. 

  
  


So it came to be that Zechs and Noin were sent out into the woods together, armed only with a bit of ammunition, camping supplies like a tent, canteens, axe, and first aid kit. They had to make it three days, leaving at noon on Monday, and coming back noon on Thursday. 

  
  


"First we should look for some shelter." Noin stated confidently after they had walked for awhile in silence after getting dropped off in the middle of the woods by a helicopter. They were several kilometres from the base, and the helicopter would pick them back up in the field much later. "I'm thinking a cave. That sounds good, right? It would keep rain away from our tent, and keep the fire going so we don't waste matches."

  
  


"I suppose." Zechs answer, mulling it over. "But it doesn't really matter. I believe the first thing we need is to find a sight near someplace we can get food. Like a berry tree, a fielding site for deer, or a stream."

  
  


Noin frowned. "Deer? We are not going to kill a deer, Zechs. That's too much meat. We're out here for two days, not for two weeks. Rabbits are good, squirrels, whatnot, fish is great. But no deer." she told him sternly. 

  
  


He backed up, looking teasingly scared. "Okay! I get it! No venison! So does that mean a stream, then?" he asked, before pausing to listen. "I think I hear some running water." Zechs pushed through the undergrowth, to emerge at the corner of an extremely small lake. It was fed by a waterfall, no more then thrice his size, forming a little pool, before tapering off into a slow moving stream.

  
  


Pushing her way passed the trees, and Zechs, Noin clasped her hands at the sight. "Oh! It's perfectly gorgeous!" She headed towards the base of the waterfall. We can put the tent up right over here, see? The rocky ledge will keep water from us, and we can built a fire under here too." Noin pointed it, throwing her back down on the ground. 

  
  


"It's perfect, Noin." he told her, starting to pull out the tent from his knapsack. 

  
  


Smiling, Noin looked around at ht clearing around them. "It really is. We'll have fresh water, a shower, shelter, food, and soon, fire." she started picking up some dry rocks from the small cliff to use for the outside of the fire. Noin suddenly sighed. "I wish I had a camera to catch this, but I guess they wouldn't consider that a bare necessity, now would they? Too bad too... I've never seen such beauty as this. Usually it's spoiled by war."

  
  


Zechs looked over at his camping partner, who was sitting quietly on a large rock, trying to take in as much nature as she could A dragonfly came buzzing around her head, and Zechs laughed as it surprised her by landing on her nose. She looked at it cross eyed. "Yes, they usually are spoiled by war." 

  
  


~~~~~

  
  


Trouble didn't really come until that night. Zechs had managed to catch some fish from the stream, and Noin had cooked them over the fire she'd built. Noin was quite proud of her little fire, and she and Zechs sat around it late into the evening. Both of them layed down a feet or two apart from one another, looking up at the sky. It was ablaze with stars. 

  
  


"One day, I'm going to be able to see those stars from outer space!" Noin whispered to Zechs. 

  
  


"I don't doubt you." he answered her. "You really want to get up there, don't you?" he saw Noin nod out of the corner of his eyes. "If you want something bad enough, you can get it. In the meantime..." he stood up. "We really should be getting to bed. It's late."

  
  


Covering the fire tightly so it would smolder until tomorrow, the two went into the tent. They didn't bother with modesty, because they weren't allowed pyjamas. Zechs slept in his boxers and a t-shirt, and Noin slept in her pants and tank top, although she did take off her bra (The cotton one Zechs had already seen.). They both crawled into their sleeping bacgs, but after a moment Noin flopped over to look at Zechs. He was sleeping in his helmet.

  
  


"Do you actually sleep like that at night?"

  
  


"No."

  
  


"Then why do it now? It doesn't look that comfortable, and no one is here to see but me." She smiled brightly, holding up two fingers. "I won't look, scout's honour!" Zechs looked doubtful, and Noin rolled back over on her side. "See? I'll sleep facing this side of the tent, and you face that side of the tent. Then, neither of us can see each other's face, get it?"

  
  


Noin couldn't see his face, but she could hear him roll over, and the light tink of the mask as he put it down on the ground. "Good night, Noin."

  
  


'Good night indeed!' Noin wiggled in her sack. She could hear Zech's voice becoming slowly rhythmic as he neared sleep. She wiggled even more. She wanted to feel the heat coming off of Zechs so badly! She wanted to know that she was snuggled right into his body, safe and warm from the outdoors. Noin knew what was out there at night, and it didn't make her feel safe, not in the slightest. She curled up in a ball. Ow. It hurt her back. She straightened out. Cold feet, cold feet! Why was it so cold? Noin couldn't stop herself from shaking, or stop her teeth from chattering. 

  
  


"Is something wrong Noin?" he asked, from his end of the tent. Her constant wriggling had been distracting Zechs. He tried to sleep, he controlled his breathing, closed his eyes.

  
  


'Yeah! You're too hot for your own good, Zechs Marquise!' she told herself. "I'm.. Just.. So cold..." she stuttered out. "At the Academy, I'd still have 3 blankets on my bed. Now all I have is this blanket and some clothes.."

  
  


Noin heard Zechs shift and pick up his mask, climbing out of his knapsack. "Get up, Noin." he commanded her. 

  
  


"What? Why?" she asked, not wanting to get out. If it was freezing cold inside the tent, Noin hated to think of what outside the tent would be like! 

  
  


"Because I'm going to help keep you warm." he told her, making Noin go red from shock.

"Excuse me!?" she yelled, before suddenly stopping blushing and looking at her sleeping bag. "It's not big enough for two!" 

  
  


"I know." he told her, starting to undue her sleeping bag. "You're getting out of there one way or another, so you might as well climb out."

  
  


Blushing a bit more again, Noin climbed out, wondering what Zechs was up to. Several naughty images that going to a nearly all-boys school had put in her head from their wonderfully sex-oriented language went through her head. Soon though, she put her mind at ease as she saw what he was up to. Zechs was zipping the sleeping bags together so that they could both share a single large one. It was ingenious, it was cute, it was dangerous sharing a bed roll with a guy, it would be warm... Noin loved it!

  
  


They both crawled into bed, and Zechs suddenly reached out and grabbed Noin's waist. "You sleep like this, exactly the same way you were before." he took off his mask. "And now..." Zechs put his arm back around Noin's waist, and buried the back of her head by his face. He took a deep breath, smelling her hair, praying she wouldn't notice. "To keep you warm." 

  
  


Noin already felt better, but she also felt like her heart was pounding so fast it would come shooting out of her chest. She curled up into a ball, feeling the heat come off of them both. For a moment, she wished she would turn around to see Zech's face, but it was gone a second later. Zechs was her friend, and she wouldn't betray his trust. 

  
  


Reaching over with his leg, he straightened hers out, keeping his left leg swung over them. "Don't worry. I know sleeping like that isn't very comfortable. I'll keep your legs warm for you."

  
  


She nodded slightly. Her heart raced. She suddenly wished that he was only a few more inches her way, so that he'd actually be on top her. His hand shifted as he started to fall asleep, and Noin wished that instead of moving across her waist, he'd shifted it _up_.

  
  


'Am I... Fantasizing about Zechs??!' she asked herself. 'But.. I.. I shouldn't be having thoughts like that! I shouldn't be fantasizing that Zechs was on me, or grabbing my boob, or, better yet, grabbing... Down there... Better yet!!??? What am I thinking?? Worse, worse!! And... Thinking about guys naked is normal for a girl my age, right? I mean, I've never really seen a guy naked, let alone Zechs.. So...' she paused, suddenly trying to picture Zechs naked. Damn, she wished she could see the real thing! 

  
  


His breath disturbed her hair, and she felt it warm her ear as it rushed by. Noin suddenly wondered what it would be like to have his mouth there, chewing on her earlobe. She shuddered, scaring herself with her own thoughts. Unfortunately, Zechs felt her. His lips caused more breath as he spoke. 

  
  


"What's wrong?"

  
  


"Nothing..." she answered hastily. 'Nothing that you can fix... Wait a minute! You can fix this! All you have to do is let me see you naked, and then hit on me, and my curiosity will be satisfied!' she told herself, mental voice simply dripping with sarcasm. 

  
  


"Are you sure?" he asked, concerned. Noin must really be cold if she kept shifting even with his extra body warmth added to the sleeping bag. 

  
  


"Well, it is something." Noin started, as her voice came up with something equally serious to her, but nowhere near where her mind had previously been wandering. "I just want you to trust me Zechs. I'm your friend. I respect the fact that you want to keep your face hidden from me, but at least tell why you wear it. I'll be ready to listen whenever you're ready to tell me." 

  
  


"Noin..." he whispered. If Noin had heard it, she would have shaken down to her bones. She never could get enough of his voice. But, her little speech and overworked brain, combined with the cold and outdoor smells, had put her fast asleep. Smiling down at her innocent little face, Zechs soon went to sleep as well.

  
  
  
  
  
  



	5. The Mission

Um.... Yeah, just for the record, I reread my last chapter, and I realize that there are no dragonflies in March, but oh well. 

~~~~~

  
  
  
  
  
  


By the time Noin was awake, Zechs had already been up for a half an hour. He was sitting cross legged on a large rock near the campfire, watching water boiling. God, was he bored. There really was nothing to do out in the woods. He and Noin were perfectly fine: food, water, shelter.. The only thing he could think of would have been much better suited to last night.

  
  


Why couldn't that night have lasted forever? He wanted to fast forward the whole day just so that he and Noin could share an extra-large sleeping bag again. But that was unfair. He couldn't take advantage of Noin's hate of the cold! As if he already hadn't! 

Noin walked out of the tent, rubbing her eyes as she stretched. Zechs watched her intently, realizing how sleepy she still looked. She must not have gotten a lot of sleep. He also noticed how Noin avoided looking at him entirely. Did she thing she looked bad or something in the morning? He vaguely remembered his mother not wanting to see anybody until after she'd eaten and gotten dressed. Was Noin the same way?

  
  


Instead, Noin stared at the water. "I want to wash so badly. That's the way I start my day, every day. But it's only march. The water would be freezing cold, and I'd get even colder then I am now." she said after a long time. Noin turned towards the fire, still not looking at Zechs. "What are you making?" 

  
  


"Breakfast." he answered shortly. Zechs wasn't a morning person either, especially not when his partner was making him feel like he did something wrong. "Soup." 

  
  


"Smells good." Noin responded, equally short. She'd kill for a large cup of coffee! She didn't sleep that well. She kept on waking up all throughout the night, finding herself dreaming of Zechs. Her goddamn hormones were interfering with her work. 

  
  


Zechs watched Noin intently. He suddenly stood up and started walking away. "I'm going for a short walk, Noin. That means that you can have a quick bath if you wish. I did. It's not that bad if you stay close to the fire until your hair is dry. That's the worst part, I have more hair then you. And besides, the water is so cold, it will make you be quick."

  
  


"Thank you." she told him softly as he continued walking away, leaving Noin staring down at the water. When she was totally sure he wasn't around, Noin stripped and hoped into the water. She swore that the water was below freezing! "Oh, Shit! This is fucking cold!" 

  
  


He could hear her yell from where he was. She'd have scared off any fish for several hours. Noin could have such a dirty mouth! Zechs smiled softly, sitting himself down on a large rock, withing shouting distance of Noin. His back was turned away from the camp, and he found it difficult to think that Noin was only a forty-five second walk from where he was now. 

  
  


'Damn it all, Zechs! You're a soldier! Don't let hormones get in the way!' He yelled at himself. Looking up at the sky, barely visible through the canopy, he rapidly switched his thoughts. 'Well, what are we supposed to do today? Noin and I are perfectly happy: food, shelter, water... I wonder what Noin's doing about her diary? Usually she writes in it every day. What the hell does that have to do with anything? Okay: food, water, shelter, heat... we aren't supposed to move either, so it's not like we're going to start heading back towards the Academy...' his thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Noin's yelling. 

  
  


As quick as lightning, Zechs ran back to their tent. There he found Noin still trying to get her shirt back on, clear that she hadn't yet put her bra on. Zechs' mask fogged up again, and he turned away tactfully. "Sorry, Noin. I thought I heard you yelling for me..."

  
  


"I did." she walked in front of him, making Zechs feel a hell of a lot better. At least she was looking at him again. "This just came shooting in." she handed him a letter, that had been pressed through an arrow. "It landed in the oak tree over there. I feel so entirely creeped out!! The person who shot that could have seen me naked!!!" 

  
  


Zechs frowned, trying not to accidentally break the wooden arrow he was holding. He didn't like the idea of some arrow-shooting peeping tom seeing her naked either. Zechs started reading the letter outloud. 

  
  
  
  


Dear Zechs and Noin,

  
  


Hope that you two are full and well rested, because here's the secret of your camping trip: There is an enemy base located 5 kilometres south of the landing point you were dropped off at. First of all: find it and scope it off. Yes, you *must* do this, even if it means you have to walk 10 kilometres! Second: there are over twenty men at this base. Don't worry, they're only cardboard guys. Do whatever you want with them. They are armed with computer chip guided guns. This means that if you get shot in the heart region, along your back, or in the head: you will be considered dead, and your mission will have failed. Anywhere else, you are allowed going. 

  
  


The bullets contain chips themselves, so when they hit, the send out a small (but non the less painful) electrical shot. If you get shot, in the leg, your leg will be numb for at least the next half hour. Be careful. 

  
  


Your mission is simple: render the base inoperable. Remember your classes. Especially you, Noin, because your role is tactics officer! Zechs, listen you your partner! You have a tendency to be somewhat head-strong in battle! Just another part of the reason why I got you two teamed up. The second of your mission is to get to the main computer, and using a disk you will find in one of your bags (as well as the rest of the information needed), transfer any information on the enemy's new mobile suits to the disk. 

  
  


Good luck you two! I know that you will make me proud! Show everybody just how good a male and female team can kick some enemy butt!

  
  


Your favourite instructor,

Major Sarah Po. 

  
  


Zechs stopped reading. "This camping trip is really just to put us in a situation where we will learn outnumbered combat experience..."

  
  


"Sly, aren't they?" Noin asked, already dragging her knapsack out of the tent to search through it. She hadn't thought she'd missed anything, the bag was completely empty. "I know just how to do it too. Remember our class on tactics? One single person can bring down an entire army, if they do it right." she smiled up at Zechs. "And we've got two." 

  
  


"Not only that," he pointed out to her. "We've got the two best students on the base." 

  
  


"I found it!" Noin told him triumphantly.

  
  


"Got what?"

  
  


"The disk and all that other stuff!" 

  
  


'Noin must be in a better mood. She's no longer swearing.' "I suppose all she needed was a purpose. That's what keeps everybody happy."

  
  


"What was that, Zechs?"

  
  


"UMMMMM... Nothing!" Zechs hadn't realized he'd said that out loud. 

  
  


"Right... well, look, here we are." she told him, pointing to the map that had been included with their assignment. 

  
  


"How do you know this?"

  
  


"Cause I'm a genius." she told him sarcastically. "Here's the base. The most direct route is straight across."

  
  


"So how far is that, oh great and wonderful tactics officer?" 

  
  


"This is a right angle triangle, see? We didn't go more than 2 kilometres. And we know that the base is five kilometres. Using the Pythagorean Theorem, we can discover the third side of the triangle. That's 'a' squared, plus 'b' squared, equals 'c' squared. Two squared is 4, and five squared is twenty-five. That's twenty-nine..." she trailed off, trying to think of the square root of twenty-nine.

  
  


"Great going genius. You don't know what the answer is, do you?" he teased her. 

  
  


"It's 5.31. That's 5.31 kilometres we're going to have to hike." 

  
  


Zechs' jaw dropped. "How the hell did you do that?"

  
  


Noin shrugged carelessly. "You've known me for almost two years Zechs. You never knew that I like square roots? They're so much fun!"

  
  


"What's the square root of 2?"

  
  


"1.41."

  
  


"3?"

  
  


"1.36 or something I think."

  
  


"12, 046?"

  
  


"Dammit Zechs, I like them, I'm not a human calculator! We need to do our mission!" she yelled, before pausing. "By the way, the answer is109.75." Noin smiled satisfied as Zechs' draw dropped even further. "Now, work?"

  
  


~~~~

  
  


At the base, Noin and Zechs paused in some of the bushes, only a few metres from the base, allowing Noin to take a good look at it. "Okay, according to the information we have, there are four guards. I can only see three. One's missing. The computer is on this side of the camp. The ammunitions room is on the other side of that wall, close to us." Noin smiled wryly. "We need a distraction Zechs. Do you want to do it, or should I?" 

  
  


"I'll do it." 

  
  


"Right, then. There are at leats two guards that you'll have to get around. They're both guarding the door to the ammunitions room. I'll take care of the one on the roof? Oh, woops. There's also two more guarding the door that you'll have to use to even get in the base first. My bad. Four to one. Still wanna go? If not, I'll happy to show you a woman's personal touch..." she teased. 

  
  


They both took the safety off their guns. "No. I can do it. You just be ready to run to the computer and get that disk done." He shifted into a sprinting take off position. Noin took aim and fired her gun, hitting the card board cut-out guard quare in the head, Zechs was already sprinting to the door. 

  
  


Because the guards were only two dimensional, and the fact that Zechs was approaching them from the skinnier side, the shot of hitting them was unbelievably low. Zechs only had a chance of knocking their gun out of their hands. However, he didn't have to worry about that: lights started blinking on their guns, and Zechs was shocked to see them pivot. 'They must be on tracks!' he thought as he blasted them both away with two shots. 

  
  


Upon closer inspection, Zechs saw that he was right. The fake guards were able to spin and turn using a system of interconnecting rails. This information was new to him. The plans said nothing about this. He had known though, that they did have a motion detector on them. Anything above a certain size and speed would get their attention, but now they were also able to move towards that movement. 

  
  


Something whizzed by him, and he avoided it by a millimetre. Looking up, he saw that one of the guards on the top had started shooting at him. Raising his gun to take aim, he was beaten by Noin coming up behind him, still hidden in the trees. 

  
  


"Hurry up, Zechs!" She yelled at him. "You're supposed to be sly! We don't want them to sound the alarm!" 

  
  


"Yeah, I know." Zechs slipped through the door. "I get it." It opened into two corridors, like "Y" shape. With their backs turned to him, there were two more guards. Zechs promptly shot them all. 'Next time, I'm being to TO!' he told himself. Still, he knew deep down that Noin was much more better at it then he ever would be. 

  
  


Instructor Sarah Po had a point when she said that he was too headstrong in battles. He just fought. Noin fought as hard as he did, but she also kept an eye out as to what the enemy was doing. If there was area that Noin excelled at, it was tactics. True, he did get the better marks in most classes, making him the top all round student, and Noin second, but she could beat him in tactics even with her eyes closed so she couldn't see the battle layout. 

  
  


"The ammunitions is just around that corner." Noin's voice rang perfectly clear as she spoke to him through his earpiece. "Once you blow the place up, I'll be coming in that door. I'm going to be trusting on you to cover me, okay Zechs?"

  
  


"I covered you last night, and I will tonight. I'll always watch your back, Noin." he told her teasingly, speaking softly into the mike by his mouth. Zechs poked around the corner, and started to wedge along the wall very slowly. Hopefully it wouldn't get the computers' attention. He was running low on ammunition. 

  
  


"Damn it Zechs, this isn't the time!" Noin yelled, making Zechs' ear hurt. He could have sworn that she was blushing by the tension in her voice. 

  
  


Unfortunately, apparently the guards could also either pick up on radio transmission or else on Noin's voice, because they turned and started firing. Zechs darted back around the corner, and swore when he got hit in his right hand. So much for his gun hand. "Fuck! Noin, these things really do sting. I won't be able to move my right hand for awhile." He confirmed, switching his gun to his left hand, and quickly shooting off the other guard. 

  
  


"Can you continue with your mission?" Noin asked concerned. 

  
  


"Yes. But, you be careful."

  
  


"I don't need you to tell me that, Zechs. You're the one who got shot."

  
  


"Because you yelled at me! The guards have a sensor for sounds, another piece of information that the plans didn't tell us." Zechs put down his gun and swung several more around his shoulder. He also picked up several more grenades. These would prove affective. 

  
  


"Hey, Zechs," Noin laughed, and Zechs supposed she was trying to cheer him up for getting shot. "I doubt that someone like Once would be able to complete this mission. Wanna bet they hiked up the rating for us?"

  
  


"Of course." Zechs backed out of the room, pulling the pin from a grenade out with his teeth. He threw it in the room, just before shutting the door and running like hell. "Bombs set. Get ready."

A loud explosion rocked the place, and Zechs could sear his hair got singed as he ducked down a hallway. 

  
  


Right into several guards. 

  
  


Swearing, Zechs threw in a grenade, heading back down the way he came as it exploded as well. 

  
  


"What was that, Zechs?? Did you set two bombs??" 

  
  


"I simply stole some grenades to use on the guards." he answered coldly. 

  
  


Noin sighed heavily. "Well, I'm going. The guards seemed to all have retreated, so it should be clear for me to get to the computer room."

  
  


"That's because they're all on metal tracks." Noin made a confused sound, and Zechs told her about the tracks. 

  
  


Zechs fired as several more guards came around the corner. He took care of them easily. Through the microphone, he could hear Noin's panting as she ran to the computer room. It made him feel more then slightly uncomfortable, and looking down at himself, he was suddenly glad that Noin was faraway. Looking up, he had just enough time to see that in his preoccupation with himself, he had missed one of the guards, and they both fired at the same time.

  
  


He tried to dodge, but instead felt pain rear up his leg, and he swore heavily. Now his hand was not only inoperable, but so was one of his legs. 

  
  


"What is it Zechs?" Noin managed to get out. "Oh my God, you got shot didn't you?"

  
  


"Yeah... it's my leg. I've got plenty of ammo to take care of the rest of the guards, you hurry up and get out. That way, the mission hasn't failed." he told her, thinking of just how much shame they'd be inf for if they failed.

  
  


"Like hell I am you shit! Dammit Zechs, you had to go and act like some big macho man, and now you got yourself injured! Do you think I'm going to live you WIN, or worse yet, MIA!!??" she yelled at him. Oh, great. He couldn't run away and Noin was pissed. Well this just sucked flying holy purple monkey shit. 

  
  
  
  


"Zechs, what are your coordinates?" 

  
  


"I don't know, dammit! I'm right next to what was once the ammunitions room though." 

  
  


"Okay. My mission is complete. I'm coming to get you now, Zechs." 

  
  


"Excuse me?!!"

  
  


"I told you, Zechs Marquise. I'm not going to leave you." 

  
  


"Dammit, woman.... Lucretzia, don't you dare come and get me! If you do... I'll hate you until the day I die!" he threatened. 

  
  


"Then at least you'll hate me being the top graduating student from the Academy." she paused. "And Zechs, don't call me Lucretzia. Noin. You call me Noin. Nobody calls me that." 

  
  


"Fine, then I'll call you Lucretzia if you come and get me!"

  
  


"You call me Lucretzia and I will learn to like that name again." 

  
  


"Why can't I win with you, Noin?" 

  
  


"Because you're a guy." Zechs heard her voice, not just over the mike, but so much more closer now. He quickly looked down at himself, and saw that if he was able to, standing up would be perfectly safe. Fighting had taken his mind off of Noin's breathing. 

  
  


Looking up, he saw that she looked extremely tired, and there was lines running down her face. She'd been sweating. 'No. He suddenly realized. She's been crying. But why?...'

  
  


Noin looked down at Zechs' leg, quickly assessing it before looking to his masked face. She had been so worried that he had so much more seriously injured. She couldn't leave him behind, she just couldn't... Noin grabbed Zech's right hand. "This bother you?"

  
  


Zechs suddenly felt his pulse quicken, and he hoped that Noin couldn't feel it, not being able to feel that Noin had hold his hand, not his wrist. "No." 

  
  


"Good." she suddenly swung him around, levering him up unto her back. "Hook your legs around my waist." she commanded. 

  
  


"Excuse me?"

  
  


"Idiot! You can't walk, so you're going to have to be carried! This means that I won't be able to shoot if we meet anybody, so you're going to have to do that with your left hand, got it? I'm going to carry you piggy back, until we get into the woods. Then, you can lean on me and we'll walk slowly, okay?"

  
  


"Okay..." Zechs did as he was commanded. One leg went around her waist, and she held the other one up herself, keeping Zechs positioned on her back. He turned off their mikes, as they wouldn't be needing it, and held his gun tightly. His other hand was useless, but he could still bend his elbow, so it went around Noin's neck. Noin's other hand gripped it, that way Zechs couldn't accidentally start choking her. 

  
  


Noin took off, carrying Zechs with her. She sprinted quickly from the base, while Zechs kept watch behind her, incase someone started shooting. Instead, he saw something worse. He bent close to Noin's ear. "Noin, we have a problem." he felt Noin shudder, causing his heart to sink low. 'Is... She... repulsed by me?...' 

  
  


"What is it?"

  
  


"Remember those tracks? Apparently the go out to the woods, too." 

  
  


Swearing violently, Noin let Zechs down. She took a fresh gun from him. "Zechs, stay here and don't move an inch! If you do, I will put you in so much pain..."

  
  


He could see how serious she was. Noin had such a look in her eyes that Zechs started wishing he was anywhere but there. "Noin... what are you planning on doing?" he asked. Zechs didn't like the idea of Noin fighting by herself, especially not when she was fighting alone because he had been weak and had gotten injured. 

  
  


"You'll see... Noin pulled herself up into a tree, amazing Zechs at how limber she could be as she navigated through the branches. He didn't know that Noin liked climbing trees, or that she even could. "Or, rather, you won't see." 

  
  


"Noin..." just what did she have planned?

  
  


Positioning herself over the tracks, Noin took extremely careful aim. She'd never really shot at something from this position before... Noin shot the gun, ruining the track. She smiled to herself, this was going perfectly well. Repositioning herself so that she was facing the base, Noin waited for the guards. 

  
  


They fired based on movement, speed, and sound. Outside, Noin had the advantage, as long as she didn't move, and didn't make a sound. She would hide in the trees, covered by the leaves, and their movements. Her own moving, small, and quiet like a cat's would be masked. 

  
  


Soon, the guards were taken down. Noin had run out of bullets, and she really hoped there weren't anymore coming. As soon as she felt there wasn't anymore danger, Noin started climbing out of the tree. Zechs was still injured. 

  
  


Noin's foot slipped o a branch. She reached out towards the large limb in front of her face to stop herself from falling, but she grabbed only a twig that immediately snapped. Noin couldn't help herself from screaming as she fell towards the ground below. 


	6. Bleeding

  
  
  
  


Noin screamed as she fell. It wasn't far to the ground below her, but she couldn't help it as she plummeted from the tree she'd been hiding in. 

  
  


Zechs heard her. "Noin!" he cried out in emotional pain. What happened? Had she been shot as well? Oh, God! He pushed himself up, right hand immovable but still somewhat useful, and his left leg totally useless. Those damned electrical bullets had screwed him over, and now Noin was in trouble. Using leverage and the tree he'd been leaning against, Zechs managed to stand up all the way. 

This, however, proved to be the easy part, as he immediately fell over, unable to steady himself. Zechs saw the ground rush up to meet him as he felt something extremely hard hit his head. "Shit! That hurt like hell!" Zechs saw that he'd hit a rock.

  
  


"Dammit! I hope... that... I... ow, this hurts." he felt something cold run down his face. He touched it lightly, and realized he was bleeding. "God damn it! Please... don't let me pass out... I need to save Noin, she's in pain..." he told himself, feeling his eyelids grow heavy. 

  
  


Crashing through the bushes, Noin arrived just in time to slap Zechs across the face, keeping him awake. "Don't you dare lose consciousness on me you goddamn loser!" she yelled. "There's no way in bloody hell that I could make it back over five kilometres carrying you, you big, fat, ugly, dumb ass!" 

  
  


"Ugly? Who are you calling ugly?" Zechs asked, rubbing his cheek with his good hand. "I heard you scream and I wanted to come and save you!"

  
  


"I didn't need saving." Noin told him gently as she picked him up off the ground. She swung one of his arms around her shoulder, so that he would be able to walk by leaning on her. "I fell out of the tree. That's all."

  
  


"You fell out of the tree?" he asked surprised. 

  
  


"Are you trying to make a big deal out of it?" she asked him, her eyes glaring deadly anger arrows at him once again. 

  
  


"No." 

  
  


"Good. Because it was really nothing. My foot slipped, and it was only a few feet to the bottom." 

  
  


"A few feet?"

  
  


"I also landed on my butt, okay Marquise? Damn it, why must you pry! You act like a woman! What the hell am I saying? You're more of a woman than me!" 

  
  


Even though it was probably a dangerous thing to do considering the mood swings she seemed to be having, Zechs smiled. He leaned backwards and watched her butt, still managing to walk himself. If he could have moved, he'd have reached down and patted it. "Your butt looks fine to me, Noin." Looking back up, he saw Noin go as red as anything. "Are you blushing, Noin?" 

  
  


"No." she responded quickly. 

  
  


"Oh." Noin thought he actually sounded a bit disappointed. "I thought you were."

  
  


"Then you were obviously mistaken, Zechs." 

  
  


"I suppose I was." He slowly started wishing that he had enough nerve to thank Noin for helping him, but Zechs was much too prideful for that. Maybe he would... later. "Noin, why... why did you come and get me out of the base? You risked failing the mission we'd been given as a result of your actions." 

  
  


"Point being?" Noin asked, rasing an eyebrow. She chewed her lip, knowing she really didn't want to answer that question. As soon as she heard Zechs swear over the communications system, she'd nearly forgotten what she'd been there to do. She'd been so afraid... The Academy had taken the best of efforts to ensure no one would be hurt by this exercise, but there was so much room for error! By blowing up the ammunitions room, Zechs himself could now be part of the gun fragments on the floor in the base behind them.

  
  


On the other hand, they could have never intended for that to happen, in which case Zechs and Noin had caused more trouble and damage then they were supposed to. Oh well!

  
  


"Why?" 

  
  


"Because... because... because a soldier wouldn't leave another soldier behind! It would be dishonourable and cowardly!" she finally told him. It was the best excuse she could think of, and the nice thing was, there was still truth in it. 

  
  


"Is... is that all?" he asked, again sound disappointed. "Because you're paraphrasing our textbook, you know that right?" 

  
  


"Yes, I know that. And, no, it's not the only reason." she smiled towards Zechs. Her dark blue eyes were warm and kind, making Zechs feel singled out, and just as warm as her. "You're my friend, Zechs. Isn't that a good enough reason?" 

  
  


Zechs smiled back. "I suppose it is." 

  
  


The two walked in silence for a moment before Noin started talking again. "Zechs, it's your right that's frozen, correct?" 

  
  


"Uh-huh." 

  
  


"Is it still frozen?" 

  
  


"Yup." 

  
  


"So, does that mean that your left hand is able to feel?" 

  
  


"Thank God, yes. I wouldn't like to see what would happen if I couldn't use at least one of my hands."

  
  


"Well..." Noin trailed off, grabbing Zechs' left hand and squeezing it tightly. "You'll know exactly how it feels if you don't kindly keep your hand of my breast!" she yelled at him, praying to God she wasn't blushing. 

  
  


Zechs winced. He honestly hadn't known that his hand been doing... whatever it had been doing! Honestly! 

  
  


~~~~~

  
  


The rest of the trip had passed place uneventfully. And also very quietly. Barely two words had been said. In reality, only had been spoken, when Zechs had stumbled over a tree root and Noin had told him to be careful. When they got back to camp, the sun had already set. 

  
  


Noin stoked the fire back up and sighed, realizing there would be no fish tonight. Not that she actually cared much for it in the first place, but it sure would be better then rations. She got out two ration bars and the first aid kit. "Zechs, in the tent please." 

  
  


He smiled and obeyed without complained with Noin's simple but effective 'please'. She must be back into a good mood. Good! It saved him from having to worry about his very early death at her hands. 

  
  


She turned on the small light they had in the tent and handed him the unwrapped ration bar. "My cooking stinks." she teased, before picking up his hand, touching his palm lightly. "Is your hand back now? Can you feel me?" 

  
  


"Yes." he answered quickly. It was the truth, in so many more ways then one. Her fingers felt like feather strokes against his palm, and he was able to move it. He actually had been able to walk the last half a kilometre on his own, but would he tell Noin that? Not very likely, she she'd never find out anyway... 

  
  


Gredily, Zechs bit into his ration bar as Noin pulled out some disinfectant. "Well, your hand and leg are good, but you're going to have to take off your helmet so I can clean the cut you have on your from falling over. "

  
  


"Dammit, I thought helmets were supposed to stop you from getting hurt on your head!" he teased, knowing that he would most definitely not take off his helmet! "You need to see to yourself first, Noin. You've got a lot of cuts and bruises from falling out of that tree." he pointed out, running a slender finger across one such scratch on her face. 

  
  


"I'll be fine, Zechs. I'm a quick healer." 

  
  


"So am I." 

  
  


"Yeah, will, I'm not the one who has blood running down almost half their face." 

  
  


He touched at his face, and his fingers came away slick with still wet blood. "I didn't realize it was that bad." he spoke softly, a nit shocked and seeing his own blood smeared across his hand. 

  
  


Noin wiped away some of the blood with bit off wet gauze. "It is. You look like Shinigami." she teased lightly, before looking pleadingly into his eyes. "Zechs... I don't know why you wear the mask, but please take it off. You do for your doctor, right? Well, it will be two more days before you get to see him." 

  
  


"I... I can't Noin."

  
  


"But WHY?" she demanded, getting a bit angry at his stubbornness, a quality she usually admired in him. 

  
  


Zechs remained stoic. 

  
  


"What about a deal?" Noin prompted. "If you let me clean the wound, I'll give you something you want." she suggested as she chewed on her own ration bar. Her burned food tasted better then this. 

  
  


"Anything?" 

  
  


"Yup." she agreed, adding "But if it's out of line, I also get something back in return." to the deal.

  
  


"Fine. But the same goes for me."

  
  


"I agree." 

  
  


"Very well then. If there was one thing that Noin could do for me, what would it be?" Several hundred images ran through his head, some involving massage oil, others whip cream, before he came to one he liked. "I'll take off mt mask if you kiss me."

  
  


"Excuse me?!" Noin shrieked. Zechs didn't know her voice could even go up that eye, and he watched amusedly as Noin choked a bit on her bar. 

  
  


"You heard me. If you kiss me, then I'll take off my mask." 

  
  


"Ha! I won't kiss you until you take off your mask!" 

  
  


"In that case, then let me kiss you." 

  
  


"You must've been hit harder on the head then I thought, Zechs!"

  
  


"Because I want to kiss you?" Noin nodded. "Well, it's natural. You're a girl. I'm a guy. We're friends. Friends kiss." He paused before asking Noin: "Why do you want my mask off so badly anyway?" 

  
  


"Why? It's not to see your face if that's what's bothering you, Zechs. I couldn't care in the least what you looked like under there, I just want to fix you up so you won't hurt anymore." she paused, taking Zechs' hand and leaning in close to him, giving Zechs a minute to think how much fixing that would take. "You're my friend Zechs." 

  
  
  
  


Zechs slipped his hand out of Noin's hand grabbed her shoulders a bit roughly. He loomed over her, not realizing himself of scary that could sometimes be. "Is that the only reason, Noin!?" 

  
  


Noin shrank back a bit, eyes going wide. "I... I... Why would there be another reason?" 

  
  


"You can't just say that everything you do is out of friendship!" 

  
  


"Well why the hell can't I??!" Noin yelled, getting pissed off again. Zechs was trying to intimidate her? HER? What the hell was up his ass? Nobody tried to ever intimidate her! "It's true, isn't it? Friends to whatever they can for another friend, and you're my friend! So of course I'd want to help you!" 

  
  


"No, Noin! Friends do whatever they can for one another, but you can't go saying that's the cause of all you do! There's so much more to life then that!" 

  
  


"Like what, Zechs?" Noin demanded, tears of anger of confusion pushing their way out. "Death?" 

  
  


"God, no, Noin! Love!" 

  
  


"Love? HA!" she laughed bitterly. "You're one to speak of love, Zechs Marquise! If somebody was sitting before you, someone who cared for you since the moment they met, you risked everything for you, who would cry, and bleed, and die for you! If they were sitting here before you right now, you wouldn't even notice!"

  
  


"Of course I'd notice!" her words cut him deeper then anything she'd ever said before. Anything anyone had ever said. "I may wear a mask to hide my face, but I'm not blind, dammit woman! Do you think I wouldn't be able to see such love?" 

  
  


"You aren't now! I cry for you so much because you won't tell me anything, and I tell you everything about me! I'm bleeding for you now, because I got hurt trying to keep you safe! I risked getting us both laughed at because I wouldn't leave you behind! I was your friend since the day we met! You're my best friend and practically the only one! I knew I loved you since today when I realized how much you mean to me! Goddamn it Zechs, every time I get to close to you, you just hurt me! You say that you'd know love!? Well, it here it is! Do you see it, Zechs?" 

  
  


The tears ran down her face, and Zechs slowly sunk back to the ground, shocked almost to death. "You... you love me?" He had never seen Noin cry like this before. He couldn't imagine how much he must have hurt her to make her feel like this. Zechs hated himself right then and there. 

  
  


Noin slowly nodded. She'd just admitted it to him. Her deepest, most special secret, blurted out in a moment of anger. "It's so... fickle, isn't it?" she asked, sniffling. "I hardly even know you, and yet I love you. I know I do. I may be young, but I know what I feel." Noin looked up into the face of the man she loved. The man who wouldn't even open up to her enough to show her what she looked like. "And I love you." 

  
  


Pouring her heart and eyes out, Noin yanked herself out of his grasp, and fled from the tent. 


	7. Noin's Truth

Okay, a few things before the ball gets rolling again. First of all: Thank you so much to Kitty who helped me write this when I got stuck. Secondly, to the person who says they both seem excitable (So sorry! I forget your name and now I feel real bad...), they are both extremely hormonal right now. They are also extremely fed up with each other and themselves because neither one of them wants to make the first move. Got it? Great! Now what else.... um... I think that's about it. K! On with the show again!

  
  


~~~~

  
  


Zechs reached a hand out and stopped Noin from running. He pulled her back down beside him. He could feel his heart ache for her. He had made her cry... He'd never made a girl, a friend, cry before. Not even when he had pestered his little sister, she'd never started crying. "Noin..." he whispered. "Please. Don't run away. Why would you want to run away?" 

  
  


"Because..." she told him, as if that was a reason. 

  
  


He gently reached out and wiped away at the tear stains on her cheeks. "Noin, I'm so sorry. You're right, I am blind. I had a beautiful, caring, smart, girl in front of me who said she loved me and I almost let her run away. But worse then that, I made her cry. I wanted to protect her from knowing me, and instead I hurt her more then the truth ever could." 

  
  


Covering her hands with his own, he placed them on the sides of his mask, and helped her gently lifted it off. He blinked, eyes quickly adjusting to the light, as he realized that he too was crying. "I only hope I can hope to make it right." 

  
  


Noin's eyes widened even further as she finally got to look upon the face of the man she loved. His hair reflected the light, making it look as light as ever. And his eyes... Noin could have fallen in love with his eyes alone. They were so intense. 'The colors have been washed away because the sun never saw them...' she told herself. She ran a hand down his face, where the tears ran with the blood.

  
  


"God, Zechs!" Noin pushed away her own tears with the bag of her hand, grabbing at the gauze. She started cleaning his face. 'He looks like an Angel.' Noin suddenly thought. 'Like Micheal, the Archangel. The Angel that fought against the Devil. A beautiful warrior, with a pure heart, bathed in blood.' She dropped the gauze. 

  
  


"What's wrong?" Zechs asked her, concern written all over his angelic face. 

  
  


"I... I... I'm just really glad that this cut didn't turn into a concussion or something!" 

  
  


Zechs nodded slowly, handing her back the gauze. "Is it that bad?"

"Perfect." Noin answered, before realizing that she'd thought out loud. She hoped Zechs didn't notice, because she sure as hell didn't have an explanation for it. Noin grabbed the first thing her brain put before her, praying it made sense. "Because me cleaning it means that you must trust me, right Zechs?" Noin rambled out. 

  
  


"Did I say that you could administer to my cut, Noin?"

  
  


"Um... No." 

  
  


"Exactly." Zechs tilted up her chin. "A promise is a promise, Noin. You get to let me kiss you." 

  
  


Noin pouted perfectly, making Zechs reconsider his statement for a moment. "But you also said that you wouldn't take your helmet off until you kiss me, and it's already off." 

  
  


"So?"

  
  


"So you broke the treaty, so you don't get what you want." 

  
  


"And what do you want Noin?" 

  
  


"Me?" Noin blushed. She wanted so much! "I want to see Outer space. And I also already got another wish. I got to see what you look like, even if it never really bugged me. Everyone has their secrets, after all." 

  
  


"You will one day, Noin. But right now, if there was one wish you never thought you could have, what would it be?" 

  
  


Noin shrank out of his arms, and finished cleaning up the blood on Zechs' face. "I would want you to tell me everything about your past. Down to the smallest detail!" 

  
  


Zechs frowned momentarily. He wasn't expecting that. Zechs had been hoping for a completely different answer. Still, he smiled mischievously. "Then I will tell you. If you let me kiss you." he submitted to Noin's hands as she precisely placed a bandage over the cut. "And don't forget, you told me you'd kiss me if I took off my mask." He took a deep breath after speaking, smelling Noin's scent all around him. She smelled so... intriguing. Like the smoke of fire. Familiar, heavy, comforting, and warm. 

  
  


His arms wrapped around her once more, holding her where she was. She could feel his heart beat through his chest, beating right in time as her own, both of them beating rapidly. His breath stirred her hair, and she once again thought what it would be like to feel Zech's breath all over her body.

  
  


'Oh, God, Zechs! I just want you to shut up and kiss me! Why the hell do you have to be so diplomatic?! Can't you just go in for it like you do in battle?' she thought. She wanted to know what Zechs would feel like, taste like, kiss like! So badly... Her first kiss, in a dark, private area with the man she'd just confessed her love to... but... 

  
  


She raised her face a little bit and gave Zechs a quick little kiss on the cheek, feeling herself blush slightly. "I'm sorry, but I can't! I can't... let you..." she tried to force it out. What was the matter with her? She'd practically blurt out she loved the guy only a few moments ago, and now she couldn't tell him that she'd never been kissed before? She was nuts! 

  
  


"I don't want my first kiss to be like this. Not that I don't want it to be you!" she blurted out, fearing she would hurt his feelings. She could feel her skin burning up, and Zechs' skin felt so cold and soft when he touched her cheek comfortingly, stroking her hair at the same time. Noin continued, knowing if she stopped, she'd never finished. Noin didn't even look up to see that Zechs' expression was so understanding... "I don't want my first kiss to be given away in some... quid pro quo!" Noin spat out. 

  
  


"Do you think that's all this is? A trade? This for that?" Zechs asked as he forced Noin to look at him. "I just want a reason to kiss you... so that I can have the honour of giving the most beautiful, caring, girl I know, and one who loves me, her first kiss."

  
  


Noin frowned softly, trying not to let the words get to her. There was still one other problem. "A kiss shouldn't be given unless there's feelings between the two people." 

  
  


"I'm your friend, and you're mine. Isn't that enough?" 

  
  


She stood up abruptly, wrenching away. This time she'd leave for sure. She'd sleep outside, no matter how cold it got! Noin was sick and tired of Zechs playing games with her! Sick and tired of being tried to take advantage of! Sick and tired of all these emotions she had in heart! Sick of feeling him so close, only to push herself away. Her tears flowed freely. "If that's how you feel, then I'm sorry I tried to fixing your goddamn head, you bastard!" 

Zechs stared at her. Oh God, no! He'd done it again! He couldn't help teasing her! And Noin usually teased him right back! That was just part of what made them such great friends. "If it's a good enough reason for you, why isn't it a good enough reason for me?" he muttered bitterly, before adding: "Besides, you don't kiss that well anyway. Your kiss you gave me was pathetic." 

  
  


"Pathetic?" Noin glared back at Zechs out of the corner of her eye from where she was at the opening of the tent. Her glare was positively deadly. "Want to know what's really pathetic? You. You sit there and try to come on to me, but instead I have to push myself away every time. Why? Because, you're too much of an asshole to try a different approach. If you want something and get it through non-physical actions. Then take physical actions. But, you're too much of a chicken. Zechs, you're never going to get anywhere you want in life if your attempts are weak and pathetic failures." 

  
  


He shot up angrily. "That's it, Lucretzia!" He blocked the tent flap opening with his body and pushed her harshly on the sleeping bag, so that she was lying on her back, and he was crouched over her body. For a wild moment he couldn't believe that he was going to take such an advantage over her. Was he really going to take her first away from her like this? Was their first kiss going to be out of anger? But, hell, it almost seemed like Noin wanted him to do this. Her blue eyes were all but daring him to do this. 

  
  


Zechs bent his head in close, quickly closing the gap between their lips in the lightning speed he'd become famous for. Her lips tasted like raspberries, and he recalled that she'd been snacking on them all the way back to the tent from the occasional bushes scattered around the area. The kiss was harsh at first, as it was unexpected and almost forced upon Noin, but it quickly grew soft and gentle. Completely innocent, letting go off all the anger they had been demonstrating only seconds before. 

  
  


Pulling away, Zechs refused to look at Noin. "Sorry. I... I don't know what came over me." 

  
  


Noin completely ignored him and grabbed him tightly, forcing their lips back together. 'Think you can get away this easily? I had to go through hell to get you where I want you, Zechs Marquise.' The kiss melted back into softness, and Noin deepened it as she parted her lips, daring Zechs even more. 

  
  


His mind took the opportunity without hesitation, as he slipped his tongue into Noin's mouth. He'd never be able to think of raspberries without thinking of her, now. His tongue explored her mouth, as Noin moaned in pleasure beneath him. He felt her leg rub against his own, wether on purpose or not, he didn't know, and Zechs' mind snapped back into place. He gently broke the kiss. 

  
  


Instead of saying something that might get Noin angry again, he smiled and blushed down at her softly. "I take it back, you are a good kisser." 

  
  


"Thanks Zechs." Noin's smile grew wider as she brushed back slender bleach white bangs, returning his compliment. Reaching down to the bottom of her sweater, she started pulling it up. "You're tired..." she spoke factly, as if it was some sort of amazing new discovery. Her voice changed, giving him a definite command. 

  
  


Whoa. Was she giving him mixed signals, or what? He heard the words, but the actions just weren't fitting. Backing away, he avoided the sight of Noin taking off her shirt. Zechs felt something pulling at his own shirt. 

  
  


"C'mon, get dressed for bed, silly." Noin laughed, pulling his shirt over his head for him. 

  
  


He smiled, understanding, and reached over, ruffling up her hair. His hand travelled lower, barely brushing her arms, as she tugged lightly at her T-shirt. He pulled it off, sneaking a tickle to her ribs in the process, making Noin giggle and squirm. Noin herself reached over and pulled his pants down low, knowing he slept in his boxers despite the cold outside. 

  
  


Both down to their tank tops and boxers for Zechs, pants for Noin, Zechs unzipped the sleeping bag as Noin slipped her bra off without having to take off her shirt. "How do girls do that?" Zechs asked as they both crawled into bed. 

  
  


Noin snuggled into his arms. "You mean taking of bras without taking off their shirts? I don't know. Just comes naturally, I suppose." She stifled a yawn and Zechs to the opportunity to kiss her neck. She smiled brightly, relaxing comfortably in his arms. "Zechs... now that you know how I feel about you, where does that leave us?" she wanted to ask him how he felt about her, but Noin didn't want to push it. She could wait, as she did for everything. 

  
  


Zechs ran a hand through her dishevelled hair. "Where do you want it to leave us?" 

  
  


"Right here." Noin sighed happilly. Turning her head, she looked at him straight in his eyes. They were such a beautiful colour. She could feel them smothering her in intensity. "I want it to leave us right here, where we are now." 

  
  


"You know that can't happen."

  
  


"I wish it would though." 

  
  


"As do I." stopping anything else she might say, Zechs kissed her lightly on the lips. "But, I think I have stuff to tell you." 

  
  


"Tell me? Tell me what?" 

  
  


He smiled down at her, as he placed his head on the pillows, allowing Noin to follow suit. "Didn't you say you wanted to know all about me? You're my friend, Noin, you deserve to know." He paused, but continuing to play with her hair. He couldn't get enough of it. It was so soft... He couldn't stop looking at her either. Someone so beautiful, and he was going to let her into his own horrible past, something that was full of nothing but war, lies, and death. "And... if by the end of it, you still feel the same way, would you consider being more then my friend?" 

  
  


"More then.... Zechs! I can't imagine anything that could make me hate you. Nothing ever could. I promise that no matter what, I will always be your friend!" 

  
  


Zechs smiled back at her. "Do you remember I once told you I had a little sister?" Noin nodded. "Her name is Relena. But she is not my sister anymore, so in a way she is dead. Her real life has been hidden from her, all because we were the children, of a man who believed strongly in pacifism..." 


	8. The Challenge

  
  
  
  


Noin locked her office. She had spent the rest of the day with Milliardo in her office, as they both tried to figure out exactly what was the best way to go about saving Relena. They had also tried to contact the Gundam pilots to tell them what had happened, although chances are they already knew. Neither of them had been able to come up with anything. 

  
  


She looked at Milliardo, who was waiting for her patiently. "Where are you going?"

  
  


"Home." he turned abruptly, walking away, trying to close their conversation with a single word. 

  
  


"Do you even have one to go to?" Noin asked, making him stop as suddenly as when he started to leave. "Sorry, but..."

  
  


"That's why there are motels." Milliardo told her sharply. Having his sister stolen from him again and him being helpless was just making him plain pissy. He felt like his heart was being pulled in two different directions. One part wanted to go and save his sister, the other wanted to hold Noin close and make all the horrors of life vanish. 

  
  


"Why not come and stay with me?" 

  
  


Milliardo turned to stare at Noin. Had she just offered... 

  
  


"Company would be nice, especially when it's a friend I haven't seen in ages. After two years, I'm still not used to living by myself. First it was the Academy, then the Victoria Base, then moving around with, the Sanc Kingdom, travelling around with the Gundam pilots from Colony to Colony. There were very few nights when somebody wasn't nearby."

  
  


"Noin... I'd be honoured, but..." he paused, thinking it over. Either way, Noin would be hurt. If he refused she'd be hurt in think that he didn't want to spend time with her, or that hse wasn't hospitable. If he said yes, then the part of him that wanted to hold her and never let go would win out, and he didn't know if Noin wanted that or not. 

  
  


Earlier it looked as though she wanted to kiss him as much as he wanted to kiss her, before that phone interrupted them. But that might have just been nothing... a kiss from an old boyfriend at 21 years old... it was really nothing more then a quick memento of the past, and a good laugh. Milliardo didn't have a clue as to starting to find out wether or not she still loved him or not. The first time she'd admitted her feelings, she had been worked up into such an anger she didn't realize what she was yelling until it was too late. Maybe he should do that again. That meant... 

  
  


"Yes. Noin, I'd be honoured." 

  
  


~~~~~

  
  


Noin drove her green jeep, listening to Milliardo beside her. He wasn't talking... she was just listening to him. She didn't want to bother talking to him, because he seemed too busy watching houses fly by the window. It didn't matter wether or not they talked, what did matter was that they were together. Noin's mind threw pictures at her of what she wished could happen that night. He was going to be staying in her house, and he looked so tired that he probably wouldn't hear her sneak into his room and tie him to the bed posts. Then, she could have his way with him... 

  
  


'Leave me alone...' she commanded herself, concentrating on the road. She didn't want to get into an accident. Milliardo may get hurt, and then he wouldn't be able to use his arms, so you could get to fee him and keep him close to you until they heal. He would grow to be dependent on you. 'Leave me alone...' 

  
  


She was driving him to her house. Milliardo watched the houses closely: with every corner she turned, and every block, they just got bigger and grander. Could she live with Relena? No, she said that she loved alone... but then, Relena had been kidnapped, so of course she'd be alone... 

  
  


"Where exactly do you live Noin?" 

  
  


"That's kind of hard to describe. I live close to Relena, but Relena threatened to sic Heero on my with his gun if I lived with her. See, she's got Heero with her, so Wing Zero is around the house. Right next door is one of Quatre's mansions, so there are all the unmarried Maguanac guys there, and Trowa spends his time away from the circus there, so there's another two gundams. But I promised you that I would keep Relena safe, so I stayed close to her."

  
  


"How can you afford this?" he asked as she pulled up the driveway to an extremely large house. Three floors, several balconies, and a large floral yard. 

  
  


"Preventers pays me well." Noin told him, climbing out of the jeep. Slamming the door, she smiled. "Your sister helps as well, because she's afraid that if I don't stay here, I'll be forced to come live with her since she's family. But most of it I pay for myself." 

  
  


Following her to the large door, Milliardo half-listened to her talk. He was too busy trying to take everything in. Although he'd heard news of his friends while living in the shadows of one of the poorer colonies, he didn't know much about their personal lives. He had two years to catch up on. 

  
  


"What do you feel like having for supper?" Noin asked as she hung up his tan trench coat for him. 

  
  


Milliardo looked around the kitchen. It looked warm and inviting, and he saw that Noin had added that feminine tomboy touch that was uniquely her. Metal spice racks, blue marble look-a-like counter tops, those metal hanging baskets filled with fruit, as well as wooden furniture and other wooden accessories to lighten the coldness of metal. He peeked around the corner to see her living room. It was sparsely furnished. A love seat, two chairs, and a small chest that looked like Noin had made it herself. The meagre furnishings made the large room appear even larger. 'She's spending so much on the house itself, of course she wouldn't have much furniture: no money to pay for it.' 

  
  


"I know it's not much." Noin told him, when she saw what he was looking at. "But it's not like very many people come by to see me anyway. The most I'd get at anyone time is all five gundam pilots, and you know how Heero, Trowa, and Wufei prefer standing to sitting in the first place... Now, what do you want for supper?" 

  
  


"What ever you usually have. Meatloaf, chicken, salad... food is food." 

  
  


"No complaints... that makes it all the more better... I feel like Chinese." Noin picked up the phone and pressed number 10 on the automatic dialler. Chau's House of Chinese Food. She didn't tell Milliardo why she felt like it. Chinese food was easy to clean up after, no cooking required, tasted good, and was a good way to end the day with all the ups and downs she'd been having in the past 48 hours. 

  
  


Hell, even though all it was is that her ex-boyfriend had come back from the dead, and Relena had been kidnapped, it was more then enough.

  
  


"The food should be here in about 45 minutes." Noin looked at the clock and sighed. "I guess I won't do my exercise tonight. Too bad, too. They'd help a hell of a lot right now." 

  
  


"Exercises?" 

  
  


"Yeah. I took to doing them nightly again. When I was teaching and travelling with you, stress wasn't exactly all that bad a thing. Not like in the Academy during exams season, and now I have a shitty desk job... not that I don't like it, it's just that I'd rather be doing something that I find productive. So I started doing nightly exercises to help relieve the stress from the day." 

  
  


Milliardo placed his hands on her shoulders and began rubbing them in a soothing massage. He could feel how tense she was. "I don't mind. You feel like you need it. I'll even join you... if you don't mind." 

  
  


"Join me? In wouldn't mind it at all Milliardo!" She sighed contentedly. "As long as you promise to do this afterwards..." 

  
  


"Promise. So where do you go to work out?" 

  
  


"Downstairs. The joy of having too many rooms in my house is that I can do whatever the hell I want with them. So I turned one into a mini-gym." Noin looked down at their clothes. "I need to go and change out of my uniform. Um... I don't think I have track pants that will fit you..." 

  
  


"That's okay Noin." He smiled down at her, thinking evil thoughts in his mind. 'If you did, I'd be fucking pissed off! Why the hell would you have men's track pants? Unless they were my old ones, you better never have any male track pants inside your house!' "I can work out in my muscle shirt, I really couldn't care less about the pants." 

  
  


"Are you sure?" he nodded, and Noin waved to him, saying she'd be back in a minute and Milliardo could change in the spare room across from her own. Noin quickly stripped from Preventers uniform, into her green army clothes: tank top and track pants. She walked back out to see that Milliardo had already finished (considering all he had to do was take off two shirts) and was staring at her. "What?" 

  
  


"I... I..." He stared at her for a moment. On the outside: her face and in her uniform, Lucrezia Noin didn't seem to have changed much. In reality, when she got down to track pants and a tank top, Noin had changed a lot. Although never skin and bones from the start, Noin had gotten quite muscular in the two years that he'd left. She was still extremely feminine, but her muscles were well defined, letting no one forget they were there, especially when you hadn't seen her for two years. Milliardo had no doubt in his mind that Noin could kick his ass anyday. 

  
  


Covering up, *hopefully* Milliardo poked Noin in the stomach. He could tell that she'd also gotten a lovely six pack. Usually she'd laugh and push him away. Today, Noin just gave a little laugh. "I didn't realize how serious you must be about working out. You look like you could kill Shinigami himself." 

  
  


"Thanks, Milliardo." Noin smiled up at him brightly. "Care to see what I've been working with?" He nodded, and Noin led him to the workout room, located in her basement.

  
  


The first thing he noticed was that Noin had matted the floor. This sent his mind reeling in several other directions, while he continued looking at the other things in the room. The second thing that caught his eye was the punching bag, motionless in the middle of the room. This was also the last thing he noticed, before Milliardo suddenly started feeling that perhaps he shouldn't have accepted Noin's offer of hospitality. Milliardo could just imagine a duct-taped sign with his name on it, sitting on the top of the punching bag. Then, Noin could pretend it was him, taking out all her frustrations. 

  
  


Wait. He wasn't imagining it. The sign really was there. Noin quickly ripped it off, and threw it in the small garbage can in shreds. "Just ignore that..." she told him as she pulled on her punching gloves. She hit the punching back square in the middle, and it swung far. Noin waited patiently fir it to come back before hitting it with the other hand. 

  
  


Seeing that if it continued this way, it was going to be a long night, Milliardo held the punching bag for her. She smiled at him in thanks before returning to the task at hand: punching the shit out of the leather bag. He watched her closely. She had a nice form... in so many ways... and her precision was outstanding. Her punches had changed a lot since he'd last seen her work out in the Academy days. Accurate and powerful, close to the body, where as before they had been less accurate, soft, and wide-swung. 

  
  


'Of course, she had good motivation: she thought the punching bag was me.'

  
  


Noin concentrated hard on the punching bag. It was really distracting having Milliardo standing behind the punching bag. It would be so simple to knock the punching bag over to the side and jump on him. It would also be extremely easy to punch him in the face, saying it was an accident. Noin's shoulders quickly grew tired. She had never concentrated so much on punching so efficiently for a long time. Noin stripped off her gloves and handed them to Milliardo, panting lightly. "I'm done. You want to puch for a while." 

  
  


Spying the decoratrions on her wall, Milliardo smiled. "No. I have a different idea for an exercise." 

  
  


"A... a... a different idea..." 

  
  


Milliardo calmly took the two swords off the wall, making Noin's hoped fall. She had thought he'd meant something different. "How long as it been since you've fenced?" 

  
  


"Long. Really long." Noin wiped her forehead with a small towel. "You know they're mostly used for nothing but decorations. Sword fights are rare." 

  
  


"You're just chicken." Milliardo teased. "Fencing always was your worst fighting subject. Guns, anybody could hold; wrestling, you used your lower centre of balance to your advantage; mobile piloting... come on.... whereas in sword fighting, it was all upper body strength, feet, and speed." 

  
  


"Speed I had, it was the other two I didn't. That's why you started teaching me how to box. Even if I never really used it. But you're forget one thing: the other things you need for fencing. Calm and brains. We both had brains, but you tended to lose your head in a fight. So even though you were a better swordsman than me, I still won half the time." 

  
  


"I managed to fix that after awhile. I'm not so headstrong now." Milliardo threw her a sword. "I doubt you could win by making me angry." He glanced down at the one he was holding, and stared at it. "Noin... is this... my sword?..." 

  
  


Noin looked away, feeling oddly ashamed. So she had his sword! What was wrong with that? "Relena felt that I should have it... you were supposed to be dead..."

  
  


"Relena gave away my stuff???!!!" 

  
  


"I convinced her not to..." Noin chewed her lip. "Okay, so I kind of asked for it... Just because I didn't think you were dead didn't mean that I didn't want to have something of yours to help me think you." 'Although thinking of you isn't all that hard...' 

  
  


"Noin, I'm touched." He pulled out his sword, smiling at her sweet thought of him. His sword looked new. "You took very good care of it. Now... draw!"


	9. The Fight

  
  
  
  


Noin drew her own sword. "Just be careful, okay? These are real swords after all, not the practice ones we used to use. I'd prefer to remain intact." she told him, as she hit swords with him. 

  
  


Milliardo lunged forward, his attack blocked immediately by Noin. His sword moved like the lightning he'd been named after, but she blocked every single one, some rather harshly. Milliardo's attacks forced her to step back, making her lose ground. 

  
  


"You're fighting defensively. No one ever won a fight by playing defence." 

  
  


"Sometimes the best offense is a good defence." Noin retorted. She blocked another harsh blow, the force of it ringing through her arm. Although she'd been working out, she was sore and hadn't fought with a sword in years. He had the upper advantage in that area. 

  
  


But, Noin had the advantage in other ways. Milliardo also had not used a sword in ages. They had been fencing partners for years, and Noin could tell his every move by simple contractions of the body. He tended to move his left hand back before a lunge, and his weight shifted forward. If he was going to attack from the left, he had to turn his waist. Sometimes he would try and come up, to knock her sword away, and to do that his weight shifted the other way. She had learned all these things by simply watching him. 

  
  


His weight shifting forward, Noin blocked and avoided the lunge he threw at her. 

  
  


"I thought you said that you hadn't touched a sword in years." he told her, his lunge failed. 

  
  


"I haven't." 

  
  


"Then why are you so damned good?" He yelled angrily, lunging again. All he had to do was touch the tip of his sword to her chest and the game would be over. 

  
  


'This isn't right!' Milliardo yelled at himself as Noin blocked another swing. 'You are supposed to be making her mad, not yourself!' 

  
  


"Noin... got a boyfriend?" he asked her suddenly. 

  
  


"Excuse me??" she yelled, faltering as he swung. Noin felt a pain in her left arm, and looked down to see that he had misjudged the momentum of his attack and had cut her. Damn it, Milliardo had made her bleed. Wincing, she covered the wound. It was deep, but it wouldn't cost her their friendly match turned bad. She could heal later. "What the hell type question is that?" 

  
  


"I... I was just wondering." Milliardo dropped his sword and advanced on her. "Noin, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to..."

  
  


"Drop it." Noin hissed, looking at her hand. It was covered with blood. A familiar sight for her. She was a soldier: soldiers bled. Wiping her own blood on her pants, she gripped her hilt tightly, backing away out of Milliardo's approaching comfort. She raised her sword. "Guard." 

  
  


He sighed and held his own sword up in the proper position. 'I had planned on getting her angry, but not furious!'

  
  


Noin's feet moved as fast as Milliardo's as she spun, beginning a complicated series of attacks. "Just to answer your question, no I don't have a boyfriend. My life is too busy for one."

  
  


'Oh. Fuck. That's just shit-tacular.' He told himself, staring at her in amazement. "Lucrezia, how do you remember all of this?" He asked, blocking what would have been a jarring blow. 

  
  


"Because I didn't do well in that class.... I paid more attention, so I remember more." Noin's mind threw her another attack, and she answered instantaneously. "And DON'T call me LUCREZIA!!!!" 

  
  


"If you found a boyfriend that fit into your life, would you date?" he asked suddenly, throwing her off guard again. Milliardo took the opportunity to take back control, attacking her. 

  
  


"What the hell is with all of your questions, Peacecraft?" 

  
  


"Curious minds want to know."

  
  


"Look, I don't have time to date, and there's nobody... there was.... there is... there used to be... oh, shut the hell up you bastard!" she yelled, knocking his sword aside with her own. Noin darted forward, trying to force him against the wall, that way it would be harder for him to block.. 'Either that or else knock that fucking sword out of his hands so I can get a clear shot of his neck.'

  
  


'My plan is working! Noin's getting frustrated!' "Which is it Noin? Present or past tense?" she didn't answer him, so instead he smiled and pointed something out. "Some people might consider this a date." 

  
  


"Great idea for a date, Peacecraft." Noin didn't like his blasted talking during fighting. And Milliardo had way too many syllables. She was wasting her breath answering him. She was already slightly winded from working out before, now her breathing was just horrible. Not only that, but her sword arm was starting to hurt like hell. "Try and impale each other on shards of metal. Now doesn't that sound like wholesome fun?" 

  
  


Noin was getting tired, and Milliardo saw his chance. The best time was to act now: off guard, winded, and tired. He let her attack, and brought his defence close to himself, forcing Noin to move toward him further as she followed her swing. Their swords rang as Milliardo used his height and greater upper body strength to force Noin down. The immediate response was, of course, to push back so as not to fall down under her opponent's pressure. 

  
  


He smiled down at her. "Give up, Noin?" 

  
  


She laughed in response. "Not in the slightest!" 

  
  


"I thought as much." Milliardo moved his head quickly down between their swords. His lips touched Noin's, and he used his free hand to circle her body, keeping her from moving away. She made a muffled sound that sounded like a surprised protest, but Milliardo ignored it. He had to find out if Noin still had feelings for him, and if this is the only way, then so be it! Even if she ended up slapping him after! 

  
  


His lips forced her apart, and he couldn't help but think about how different this kiss had been from the last one they had shared. Guilt washed over him, but he shoved it away like he had so many times before in battle. He felt like he was stealing something from Noin... But she tasted so good! It had been too many years since she had been this close to him, since he could feel the heat off of her, feel her body against his, her breath, her hair, her lashes... hear her voice, her laughter... see her smile, her walk, her stance... 

  
  


Milliardo would die if he knew that she was his again. 

  
  


Noin's sword clatter to the ground as she wrapped her arms around him: one hand around his back, the other in his hair. He moved his sword away as she made a pleasured noise and pressed herself against him. Noin felt like the Red Sea was crashing back down around her, like the floodgates of Hell had been opened. Milliardo was back where he belonged. She couldn't take it anymore! If this fight had been just an excuse so that he could kiss her, then the fact that she was injured could go fuck itself!

  
  


Unable to control herself, she moved her tongue into his mouth. He tasted delicious as she explored his mouth, daring his tongue to do more as she retreated slowly. 

  
  


Way too slowly for Milliardo. In the years he'd known her, she'd never once been so... direct. The fire that was burning around them was scorching him, and he was burning up in pleasure. But he couldn't hold that guilt back. It just wasn't right. Making Noin angry to get her to do something? No... Not *his* Noin... He couldn't hold himself back... Lust... that's what it was... 'That's all it is...' 

  
  


They had started dating at 15 years of age. Yes, at 15 years of age they had been sent out into the woods as partners, and come back out three days later as a couple. But they were only 15, after all. Both of them were only just coming into being aware of their sexuality... as one actor had once said in a movie... and they were both drawn to each other like magnets. They dated for the remaining two years they had together in the Academy. However, did they ever go far? No. 

First boyfriend, first girlfriend, first relationship... magnetics or not, they had a lot in front of them, and both were comfortable where they were, even if their hormones went out of wack regularly. Just because they didn't display their emotions in physical exercise didn't mean they weren't a couple, and they didn't care about each other deeply. 

  
  


'But now we're both adults... that's why I can't do it. She was my first love, and my only love... I can't trick her into these things...' Milliardo pulled away, and pointed his sword at Noin's neck, who was disarmed. "I win."

  
  


Noin stared at him in shock. She blinked slowly, and when she clenched her fist she could feel her nails biting into her skin. "You.... you tricked me into... into..." 

  
  


'Kissing me.... I know, I'm so sorry, Noin... If only I could say it out loud...' 

  
  


"Into losing! You kissed me so I would lose?!" Noin's eyes overflew with tears, and she looked like somebody she trusted had beaten her near death. She backed up into the wall behind her. "You... you're such a goddamn bastard, you know that? I should've listened to myself six and a half years ago when I told you that, and stayed the hell away from you! You... you're just a fucking bastard!" 

  
  


Milliardo stared at her in shock. He hadn't thought that she would see it that way... It had never even occur to him that she would take it like that. "I.... I...I had to..." 

  
  


"Bullshit!!! You had to? You had to kiss me? That's the biggest load of shit I've heard from anybody!" Noin yelled, slamming her fists into the wall. It hurt like hell, but it didn't hurt at all like what she was feeling inside. 

  
  


Talking wouldn't do anything. He couldn't get the words out anyway. 'I'm sorry.' 'I wanted to see if you still cared about me.' 'I can't help kissing you.''I deserve being called those names after trying to trick you into kissing me.' None of them were coming out. Instead, handed his own sword to Noin, hilt-first. Milliardo didn't even see the blood dripping down his left hand down to the carpet: he was holding the blade too tight. 

  
  


"Here. If you hate me so much, use this. Cut me, hurt me, wound me, cripple me, kill me, it doesn't matter." He let go of the sword as Noin took it. He swallowed hard. 'What the hell am I doing? I'm giving a flipped-out Noin my own sword to kill me with!' "Just please don't cry... I never meant to make you cry." Milliardo reached out and gently wiped away the tears from one of her eyes. He wasn't at all surprised to see Noin flinch away. 

  
  


She raised his sword, but he kept her eyes on hers until the last. 

  
  


Pain wound his way around him, it took him awhile to notice it because the pain in his chest was distracting him. You would think that if someone you cared about cut you and you started bleeding like crazy, you would notice sooner, but you don't really. 

  
  


First, there's a sudden realization of 'Ow, something hurts'. This is fallowed by the quick body search to determine what hurts. You can't help but stare at it for a long time, watching blood soak threw your clothing, and run down skin. Then comes the looks between the someone you rust, and your own blood, as you realize in shock that the person who hurt you never would have done it. Followed by the realization that: 

  
  


'I brought this on myself. I forced her do to this: because of my own fear. If I had been able to ask Noin how she felt about me, then this never would have happened.' 

  
  


Milliardo clamped down on his left arm. Blood ran down is arms, mingling with the blood already on his hands, and dripped on the mat below him. Noin had cut his arm, the exact same spot that he had cut her. 

  
  


Dropping the sword, Noin stared at the small pools of blood. Her own, and his. "...Get out of my house, Milliardo." she commanded him, voice emotionless. 

  
  


"Noin..."

  
  


"I said to get out! Get the hell out of my house! Don't you speak English? Fine then! How ahb! Vas! Aller!" Noin yelled at him, her voice sounding worse the more she said. Noin was struggling hard to control it, afraid that her sobs would suddenly burst in the middle of saying something.

  
  


She should have known that he wouldn't have the same feelings for her as the had years ago. Now he saw her as nothing but some plaything: someone who he could fool around with and then throw away, coming back to pick it up only when he felt like it. 

Even when they were dating, Zechs had given no words to his emotions towards her. That had satisfied Noin for a long time. She didn't need to hear anything to feel secure, and happy. Now though, she didn't have a clue. Their relationship had fallen apart after graduation. Noin eventually went into teaching, and Zechs flew through the ranks as he settled fights all over the Earth and in the Colonies. 

  
  


One day she had gotten word about his coming to her base. Noin flipped her hair aside and went to the nearest vid-phone. What should she say? How should she act?...

  
  


'What did it matter what the past was like?' Noin forced her memories down, along with her hurt. 'All that matters now is we are less then friends...' she felt like shit at those words. Noin had never thought she'd be able to say it. No, Noin would die if she wasn't friends with him. Besides, she had promised....

  
  


"I told you that I would always be your friend, Milliardo, and I am. I will be. So, as my friend, leave me right now. Get out of my house..." Noin repeated again. She closed her eyes tightly, causing the last of tears to trail down her cheeks. 

  
  


He looked at her sadly, feeling an ache for her stronger then anything else he'd felt before. Words couldn't form themselves to describe her, no matter how hard he tried. "Look, Noin, I...." 

  
  


"Leave, damn you, Milliardo!" She told him, turning her head to the side that he couldn't see her face. She knew he could tell she was in pain. If he couldn't see it, then maybe he'd leave quicker...

  
  


Clenching his fist, Milliardo balled up his courage. "No, Noin." he said defiantly, as he knelt down in front of her. "I'm not going to leave."

  
  


"Please...." 

  
  


"Shut up, Noin." Milliardo told her softly, placing a hand on her lower shoulders. This time, she did not flinch away from his touch. "Listen to me. I'm a soldier. It's all I now how to do: fight, lead, stratigize, work around pain, bleed, and die. I don't know how to explain my feelings, how to be brave in ways that do not including fighting, how to not hurt people... how to make everything better when you cry."

  
  


He reached out his right hand and brushed the tears away from her eyes in gently strokes, feeling soft skin beneath his hand. "And somehow I always seem to make you cry. Your tears hurt me more then anything else ever could. I would gladly give all I have to know that they would never see light again."

  
  


"I didn't kiss you because I wanted to win. I..." Milliardo blushed deeply, something that normally didn't happen. He knew that he had to get the words out. "I like kissing you, and I will take every opportunity I have. But I did have secret intentions as to kissing you before... I wanted to find out if you still loved me, even after all I've put you through." 

  
  


Noin's eyes remained closed all while he was talking. She could feel small tremors run through her, and she was sure that he could feel her shaking. When a long pause overcame the two of them, Noin knew he had finished speaking. "In my opinion, love doesn't die..." she muttered in a low breath. 

  
  


"Then... do you mean..." 

  
  


She finally opened her eyes to look at Milliardo. "Love doesn't die." she repeated again. She stared at him, her heart praying like crazy. 'Please, Milliardo. Tell me those words I long to hear... we're both adults... please...' 

  
  


Milliardo pulled her close. He smiled impishly, a sight that always made Noin's knees feel weak and her heart race. Bending his head down, his lips found the cut on her arm. Her blood tasted sweet and coppery as he kissed it lightly, lapping up the blood that trickled slowly. Noin's flesh was warm against his, but he could feel her shiver. He began moving up her arm making a trail of hard kisses as he went. Milliardo hadn't done anything like this before, but he could tell Noin enjoyed it from her breath. 

  
  


"Noin... tell me that you're mine..." asked her, even though it was more of a command then a question. "Let me know that I have you once again..." 

  
  


'Yours?' her mind flared into anger at the question itself, but there had been such a longing in it. 'If you tell him that you are his, you're doing nothing but adding to the possibility that he thinks of you as an object!' her mind warned her. Noin felt his lips move again as they kissed her collarbone rather roughly. He bit her gently, and her heart jumped in surprise. "I'm not anybody's... I can't be owned, or haved..." 

  
  


His kisses made their way to her ear, where he bit lightly again. "Noin, one day I can guarantee you will tell me that you are mine." he whispered, and felt Noin give a tremendous shudder of pleasure as the wind rushed out of her lips. "And it will not be what you believe I mean." 

  
  


"What do you mean, then?" she asked. She felt his hand slip around her waist and push her gently to the ground in response. 

  
  


Milliardo smiled, his hair falling around him as he looked down at Noin. He winked mysteriously, indicating that it was a secret. "We are going into another war, Noin. This isn't the right time for that."

  
  


"And when will the right time be?" 

  
  


"Later." he bent down to giver her a kiss, but was stopped by Noin's finger upon his lips.

  
  


"We're both injured. The wounds need to be covered. Your left hand is bleeding, Milliardo..." she told him noticing he hadn't seen it yet. Her face softened, and she looked like a scared child. Her blue eyes looked purely innocent as she spoke. "Milliardo... I don't want another war. Please just promise that you'll stay with me through it all. Stay with me as we fight. I don't want to lose you! Not like I lost you when you went off to fight, or when you switched sides, or when people said you were dead... just stay with me." 

  
  


He backed away, face back to being serious. He helped Noin back up into sitting position, and brushed her hair back into place. "Noin... I promise I will not leave your side until after the war is over." 

  
  
  
  


~~~~

Just a few notes about the languages: 'How ahb' is German, but I'm afraid I can't recall wether or not I spelled it right. It means "Go away." 'Vas' is Spanish, for go, conjugated for 'you go', so I suppose it would actually mean "You go", but I'm really not good at Spanish because I only know the basics. 'Aller' is French, and yes, it's a verb, but it's in the untouched form because it's a command. Please keep r&r!! I want more reviews! *sniff* They make me feel like writing more! There are only going to be three or four more parts before I end it (because otherwise I could keep going on and on and on!) And I'll be looking for ...requests... has to how I should go about the end, but you'll see that later on when I get closer to the end. ^_^


	10. Love in War

A special thanks to Kalen! I'll try and remember that in Spanish next year so that I can show my teacher I learned something. ^_^ The joys of grade 10 Spanish: learning only 2 verb tenses. :(

~~~~

  
  


Mobile suits surrounded Milliardo and Noin as they tried to force their way towards the base where Milliardo's sister was being held captive in. Explosions lit up the sky in a dazzling, but dangerous, show. The two fought back to back, covering each other as they shot up the bad guy. 

  
  


Noin smiled wryly. Milliardo was being one hundred percent true to her word. He had stayed by her side since a few nights ago when she had asked him too. He had stopped putting the moves on her, and was there for her to lean on. More then than that, she was also there for him. Last night, she had found him lying her guest bed, staring up at the ceiling. He said that he couldn't sleep. 

  
  


~~~~~~

  
  


"Why not?" Noin questioned, taking a small sip from her steaming hot chocolate. 

  
  


"I can't stop thinking of Relena." he ran a hand through his bangs, ruffling his already bed-tousled hair even more. Noin had figured out that Milliardo had developed a habit of doing that since his "death". "My little sister is being held hostage, and we are starting a war to get her back. I'm so proud of her, that everybody would want to protect her this much, but... sometimes I feel myself thinking that maybe I should just tell Mariemeia to go ahead and shoot Relena, that we uphold her laws of pacifism enough to make her a martyr." 

  
  


She looked at him, shocked by his thoughts. "Milliardo..."

  
  


"Don't worry, Lucrezia. It only lasts for a few seconds, but I'm ashamed that I'm having those thoughts at all." 

  
  


Putting her hot chocolate down on the night stand, Noin sat down beside him on the bed. She looked down at Milliardo, brushing his hair back into looking decent. She smiled impishly, feeling his silky hair between her fingers. "Look Millie, everyone has their times of doubts. Our doubts are part of what makes us human."

  
  


He smiled up at her. "Millie?" he asked, before realizing that she was only pulling his ear for calling her by her first name. "Noin, what are your doubts?"

  
  


Noin continued stroking his beach-blond hair, thinking thoughtfully. "Every once in awhile, I used to doubt that you'd come back to me. That maybe you really had died blowing up the Battleship Libra. It used to leave me feeling hollow inside, and sick to my stomach." her blue eyes clouded over, thinking back to those awful moments. 

  
  


"What did you do when you had these doubts?" 

  
  


"I told myself that I knew you were still alive because I'd know it in my heart if you were truly dead."

  
  


Milliardo clasped her hand, bringing it down to his chest, where he laid it over his heart. "Noin, we're going to war tomorrow." he reminded her, his voice almost childlike. She nodded in response. "Noin, I..." 

  
  


"You don't need to say anything, I feel the same way." She slid her hand out from under his and pulled at the covers. Noin crawled inside her guest bed, into his waiting arms. They pulled each other close. "Years ago, we felt that we'd hung up our weapons for good, and now we have to clean them off and use them again. A soldier's job is never done, is it?"

  
  


"Soldiers are the pawns of the world. We are nothing but a quick fix." he paused, sighing. "We can only hope that there will be less people hurt by this battle then the others." 

  
  


"Hope..." Noin repeated, slowly. "Hope is something I can always rely on. She'll never let me down." 

  
  


"Don't be so foolish, Noin. Yes, there is hope and always will be, however, you can't believe that it will be in your favour all the time, Noin." Milliardo told her, fearful that she might hurt. "You have no proof that hope will never let you down..."

  
  


"Yes, I do!" Noin interrupted. "Hope brought you back to me... And I don't want to lose you again! Please, be careful tomorrow!" Noin begged. 

  
  


He leaned his head down and kissed her gently, leaving her blue eyes wide with... with what? He couldn't tell. "You'll never lose me Noin. I'm always here..." Milliardo pointed to her mind. "And here..." he pointed to her heart. "Even in death, you'll never lose me." 

  
  


Milliardo was fearful she might start crying when he saw her reaction. She didn't look like the 21 year old Noin now, but more like the young girl he'd met more then six years ago. The girl he would sometimes see crying when nobody else was watching, her tears being shed for people who fought and died in wars hundreds of years old. 

  
  


She buried her head in his pajamas, trying to stop tears from fallin. Did he even realize what he had said to her? What those words meant to her? She pressed herself closer to him, wanting to feel him protect her from all the injustices and inhumanities of the world outside her house. "I wish we could stay like this, and not fight." 

  
  


"Then we will stay like this, until we have to fight..."

  
  


~~~~~

  
  


Noin blasted the laser cannon on the Taurus suit repeatedly. She watched her enemy fall, and she pulled back the gear sticks, shooting another incoming suit. She could see Milliardo fighting out of the corner of her eye, from the little vid-screen in the bottom front panel. 

  
  


Her early warning alarm flashed and beeped, making Noin turn to see what was wrong. Incoming missiles from behind! Noin was harshly shoved forward, being held in place only be her seat-straps. She felt blood trickled from a cut on the side of her head. That'd hurt later. 

  
  


Spinning her Taurus around, Noin fired her laser again. "Damn you! I already shot you! I don't want to kill you, can't you PLAY DEAD!?" she screamed at the pilot, who couldn't hear her.

  
  


Milliardo's voice was oddly calm as he talked to her through their com system. "Noin, these people as soldiers, just like us. They are out here fighting for a cause they believe in. Even if you don't want to kill them, they will continue fighting until you do." 

  
  


"But we had peace!" Noin yelled at him angrily. "Everybody wants peace, so why can't they let it be?!"

  
  


"Noin, honey, calm down. You'll get yourself injured if you lose control of your anger." he told her softly, making her stare at the vid-screen. "I'm usually the one who keeps a hot head in these conditions. Usually, you let all your emotions go until after you are fighting."

  
  


"But... they...." she wiped a bit of blood of her face and sighed. "I still think that they shouldn't be fighting, but I'll try not to get angry again." She told Milliardo calmly as she hit down another enemy suit. 

  
  


"Good. I know that I may not be able to stop you from fighting, but please don't get hurt Noin." He told her sternly, more of an order then a request. 'If I knew it would work, I would have tied you to the bed this morning to keep you from fighting.'

  
  


'How long as it been? How long as it been since we lost fought back to back?' Noin tried to remember as she attempted to push and shoot her way forward. 'Oh, God, not since the Academy days, during the practices. True, Milliardo and I have fought on the same side before, but not back to back like this. Nope, it wasn't like this since I was sixteen when we started practising in actual mobile dolls equipped with targeting programs.'

  
  


'Actually,' Noin realized with a bit of excitement. 'This is the first time he's been my partner as Milliardo Peacecraft. Before, he was Zechs Marquise. He only became Milliardo Peacecraft, stopping being Zechs Marquise totally after becoming the leader of the White Fang. That was when he was trying to destroy the Earth... making him my enemy at the time.'

  
  


~~~~~

  
  


In the Tallgeese III, Milliardo was thinking the exact same thing as her. Tallgeese's arm swung down with the beam saber, slicing an attacking enemy into half before it exploded. 'We were both very stupid to be fighting each other. I was stupid because I was trying to destroy the Earth. Noin was stupid for risking her life to go up against a madman.' 

  
  


Noin hand't done it just once either, but twice. Twice she had stood up against him, not knowing wether or not he'd fight her to get what he wanted. She was either incredibly stupid, incredible trustworthy, or incredibly hopeful. And he knew she wasn't stupid. 

  
  


Even though it had been two years ago, Milliardo could still remember everything. Although he wanted to forget a lot about that time, he didn't want to forget his confrontation with Noin. 

  
  


~~~~~

  
  


The colony layed directly in the line of fire from Barge's beam cannon. Milliardo couldn't believe how stupid they were. He ripped through the mobile dolls guarding Barge, Epyon slicing them like cheese. The Zero system flashed around him as he stopped, directly in front of Gundams 02 and 04, and a white Taurus suit. The Gundams may also be trying to protect the colony, but they were his enemies as well.

  
  


Millardo could hear their conversation over his com system. He didn't know if they knew he listening or not, but he could give a shit if they did or not. The Pilots spoke for a moment, before the Gundam 02, Deathscythe, began attacking, using his beam-scythe. Epyon blocked it easily. 

  
  


"It's so fast!" Duo exclaimed over the system. Deathscythe backed quickly away, aided by Epyon. 

  
  


'Yes, it is fast. Faster then any of you could ever be.' Milliardo gloated to himself, slightly over confident. 'You other Gundams have no hope of beating me, you are too slow.' 

  
  


Sandrock attacked next. Milliardo seemed to watch him in slow motion. Sandrock was a bit slower then Deathscythe, but when his weapons hit, Milliardo felt the connection all the way to his bones. Sandrock may not have been as fast as Deathscythe, but it had more force behind the attacks. 

  
  


"It's so strong!" The pilot of 04 stated quietly. 

  
  


'Stronger then any of you ever will be!' Milliardo watched Sandrock back off as well, and wondered why the third pilot suit wasn't attacking. He had heard that one of the Gundam pilots had amnesia, and fought in a white Taurus suit because they had no Gundam. This had to be the Gundam pilot with the amnesia then. Strange how the one with the least amount of memories was the smartest among them. 

  
  


"Barge's beam cannon is almost ready to fire again!" somebody yelled at the Gundam pilots. Everybody turned to look. 

  
  


'No! I can't let the Gundams do it! They aren't strong enough! They are too slow! Too weak!' he was almost frantic with anger, but he felt oddly calm even though his mind was spinning out if control. 

  
  


Trying to move his mobile suit forward, he found he couldn't. 'What?' He realized that the white Taurus suit had grabbed hold of him, keeping him from going after the Gundams. 'But I'm not going after the Gundams! I'm going after Barge!' 

  
  


She began talking to him, and Milliardo lifted his visor to see her on the vid screen. He listened with dead ears, looking like stone. 'What am I going to do? I can't hurt her! Why can't I hurt her? She's in my way, I should just use Epyon to destroy here! Noin is getting in my way, and I can't let anybody keep me from my goals!' 

  
  


He didn't even know what he said to her before hitting her mobile suit in one of the torso connecting pieces with the elbow of the Epyon. She backed off, distracted by the sudden blow. Epyon blared it's engines: Milliardo had to destroy that base!

  
  


~~~~~

  
  


Noin stood in his way again. She was back in her white Taurus suit, and Epyon already had the beam saber out. Milliardo's fingers itched to use it. Noin didn't have any weapon on her, she was defenceless, his attack would be swift and painless. 

  
  


In his mind, he shifted the gears. He kept trying to move them, and he knew that his arms were getting the message, but what was it that was stopping him? The Zero system? Ha! He had conquered that system a long time ago. 

  
  


Milliardo shivered. He was shocked to find that he was in a cold sweat, like he'd woken up from a nightmare. Why? Why couldn't he kill her? Why wouldn't Epyon respond? 

  
  


"Noin!" he yelled, closing their connection. "You are a fucking idiot! I could kill you! I could slice you, blow you up, shot you, cut you in half!.... why are you standing there like a fucking idiot! Get out of my way! I don't want to hurt you, but I will!" He shifted the gears agin, but again they didn't move the Epyon an inch. 

  
  


"What is going on? Why can't I kill you! By standing in my way, you are my enemy, and I must destroy my enemies!!" Milliardo clenched his fist. He was so frustrated with her that he was crying. 

  
  


Him? Crying? Yes, the tears were streaking down his cheeks. The Lightning Count was bawling his eyes out. "I.... must destroy my enemy... I...." The lines and grid shifted in the Zero system. Was it for real, or just because he was crying? They shifted until he could see Noin. 

  
  


She was back to wearing her military uniform. 'Noin, you've come to my side! I...' He watched in horror as the commands he'd given earlier to the Epyon responded, and he lunged forward with his beam saber. 

  
  


It could right threw Noin, easier then it had threw the mobile dolls. He watched in horror at the carnage it caused. Her body had been shredded and burned by the intense heat of the beam. Blood, intestines, bones.... Noin was gone. Milliardo's tears came faster, and he slammed his fist down in the control panels of the Epyon. 

  
  


"NO! Damn you Noin, why did you have to stand up against me? I didn't want to kill you! I never want to hurt you!" he screamed. 

  
  


The grids stopped spinning and he saw that the Taurus suit was still standing defiantly against him. The Zero system again. He had never seen that before out of it.

  
  


But why couldn't he get Noin out of his way? 'Hell, I can't even push her out of my way. I am Milliardo Peacecraft... no, I am Zechs Marquise, I can't do it because I can't hurt someone I care about.... No. I am Milliardo Peacecraft, and anybody who tries to stop me from my goal is dead.... No. I am Zechs Marquise, and I love Noin....'

  
  


'Love? Love!? But Milliardo Peacecraft hardly even knows Noin... but I'm Zechs Marquise, and I do love her. Look at her, Milliardo. She is your equal, and everything you are not. She's trying to achieve pacifism like you should be doing, she is standing up to you because she's a soldier and she knows that you aren't a hundred percent all there. She's trying to help you, Milliardo. Because she loves you.'

  
  


'Noin loves me? She's too good for me, she's like an ancient war goddess: beautiful, innocent, and also know ledged in the ways of war. But... I....'

  
  


Something snapped inside of him, and he felt emotions he hadn't felt in along time. Pride, happiness... and love.

  
  


'I see now... I had it right so long ago.... I can't go switching between two faces believing that God takes away the sins I have done when I take off that mask. Because the wrongs are on your soul, and I cannot have two souls. I am both Zechs Marquise and Milliardo Peacecraft deep down on the inside, although they may look differently on the outside. As Zechs Marquise I love Noin with my mind, body, heart and soul... and so I love her now that way too.'

  
  


'No matter how well I have been trained for war, I can't kill the one I love. She really is the other half of me, not Zechs Marquise, because he is also me. Noin... I love you... I love you so much, and I'm not afraid to tell you know!... But I can't let me love for you get in the way of what I must do.'

  
  


Without another word, Milliardo and the Epyon took off, retreating.

  
  


"I'm so sorry Noin, for what I believe in, and what I must do. I love you, and one day when you are no longer mad at me, I will tell you that...." 


	11. Milliardo's Truth

Well, this is it, the end. I thought I'd end it here, just because a need to end it with a bit of sap. ^_^ I loved writing this fic (obviously considering that Noin and Zechs are one of my favourite couples!), and please keep the reviews coming because later on I will no doubt come up with a sequel, starting where this one leaves off. I just want to go on and write some other fics now. My personal mission is to write one for every couple I like. (The completion of this one means that one couple is done, and only at least a dozen more to go.) I know the chronology is really screwy, but think of it this way: you are as confused as Noin and Zechs in some part! Anyway, keep looking me up, cuz I know that there will be a second part sooner or later. It all depends on how quickly I can write the other fics. This is supposed to be a fic of the past, present, and future of Noin and Zechs, and I'm only ending of at the end of EW, so there's still all the stuff after it to come! ^_^ I loved having all you guys as an audience! A special thanks goes to: Kalen, for being one of my best reviewers and for the Spanish note; Angel of Death, for threatening me to finish my story if I didn't get a chapter uploaded within 48 hours of my last one (even I can type that fast, Angel! ^_^); and Chibi_Trowa, who, even if they didn't review my story since chapter FIVE *glare* they still get to thanked just cuz I can! ^_^ On with the ending!

  
  


~~~~

  
  


The snow fell around both Milliardo and Noin as they stared at each other. The moment the fighting was over, they had both disappeared from the battlefield, both because the less time spent there the better, and also because it was the last victory for the Gundam pilots. Their own private battles had ended long ago, save this last one. 

  
  


Milliardo was as cool as ever, masking a feeling of nervousness and happiness behind silvery blue eyes. He felt slight nervousness, but was almost bursting happiness through his skin. The fighting was over, and he knew that Noin still loved him, even after more than 7 years. He patted his pocket with a quick movement and checked to make sure that everything was ready. 

  
  


Hoping off of Tallgeese's door, he walked over to Noin, and helped her down. She pulled away quickly once she was on the ground, as if the longer she was touching him, the more likely she was to catch some horrible disease. Milliardo grew puzzled. Noin loved him, didn't she? So why was she acting like he was poison? 

  
  


"You can go now." She told Milliardo shortly. 

  
  


"Excuse me?" 

  
  


"I said you can go now." Noin repeatedly slowly. Her words were like venom to him, and he grew more puzzled. "The war is over. I asked you to stay by my side until the war is over. Like I said, it's over. You can go off to your sister, go start another fight with the Gundam pilots, whatever! I don't care, but you can leave now." 

  
  


Noin held back tears as she heard herself speak. How could she be saying these things to Milliardo? She knew it hurt him, and it hurt herself to say them just as much as it did him to hear them. She felt like she was stabbing herself with a dagger. 'Fuck! Stabbing myself with a dagger would be easier then doing this!' But this was something that she had to do. If Milliardo was going to keep hurting her, and then apologizing, then Noin wasn't going to accept the apologies anymore. Milliardo Peacecraft was getting out of her life, once and for all!

  
  


"But... I..."

  
  


"But what, Mr. Peacecraft?" she spat the name out. "But you are too chicken? Is that why you're stuttering?"

  
  


"Don't forget Noin, that you made a promise to me too." He finally got out. Noin stared at him, as if trying to remember what he was talking about. Milliardo hurt more at the sight. Had she really forgotten? It had to be a trick, she remembered it a few days ago. "You promised me that we would always be friends."

  
  


"Yeah, well... I will still be your friend, I just don't want to see you for a long time. I don't want to have you near me, or to talk to you for a long time. But I am still your friend, I just need time alone." 

  
  


"What, two years wasn't enough?" Milliardo asked bitterly, his voice full of self-pity. 

  
  


"No. It wasn't." Noin answered simply.

  
  


Milliardo looked down at the snow-covered ground, clenching his fists in frustration. "If we were still dating, Noin, then I would have thought you were breaking up with me." 

  
  


"Technically," Noin pointed out. "We never even broke up. That is, we never discussed it and agreed on it. Our relationship just feel apart." 

  
  


"War isn't the time or place for love." he told her simply. 

  
  


"On the contrary, I believe that war is the perfect place to love." Noin responded. "There's so much prejudice, hate, violence and death in war... being with someone who loves you helps to make all that seem far away. You get to be yourself, and not the soldier you were trained to be. It's almost like a vacation in that sense. But it's something so beautiful in the mist of something that is horrible and ugly." 

  
  


Her voice grew sad and far away as she spoke. Milliardo looked at her to see her staring at the ground. It looked more like she was seeing past it, into something that wasn't there. The snow looked like diamonds against her dark hair, and he could almost hear his heart being shredded as he thought of losing her. He couldn't let her go, but...

  
  


"It's all my fault, isn't it?" Noin turned to look at him sharply, but Milliardo continued. "The reason why we are falling apart. It's all my fault. It's because I really was a chicken when it came to you. It's not that you scared me, it's that I scared myself, and that you were so... perfect, that admitting my feelings for you was like a nightmare. Not only that, but I was such a screwed up kid. How many other teenage boys do you know have two identities?"

  
  


Noin blinked slowly. "Milliardo, what are you saying?..."

  
  


"I'm saying it's all my fault. I always had to wait to make sure that you had the same feelings for me. I had to get you angry to get you to tell me how you felt. You were scared too Noin, but now I'm not scared anymore. I'm not going to risk losing you again. I wanted to ask you this so many times before, but we were soldiers, and I could never find the proper time. But we both survived the wars, and now there will be nothing but peace in our lives. Noin, I want you to break your promise to me." he told Noin firmly.

  
  


She actually gasped at his order, and stepped back. "Milliardo... what are you saying? I thought you still wanted me to be your friend. I mean, I still want to be friends with you as well, but..." she trailed off, backing up as Milliardo advanced on her. She felt so scared she was lightheaded, and she felt like her skin was on fire. There was a determination in Milliardo's eyes that made her want to jump into his arms and let him do whatever he wanted to her. 'I've heard that fear and arousal aren't very far apart... they were right.'

  
  


Milliardo reached out and grabbed her wrist before she back away further. He pulled her closely to him, as gently as he could at the moment, which was actually quite rough. He held her tightly against his chest, feeling her hot body through their clothes, despite the winter weather that should have made her feel cold.

  
  


"Oh, Noin... Of course I still want us to be friends, but I want so much more." Noin's body went stiff in his arms, and he leaned his head down on her shoulder, nose to her neck. He felt her smell consume him. That unique smell that was nothing but Noin. He loved it. 

  
  


"Let me tell you a story Noin. Once, there was a young boy who felt that he everything he loved was doomed. He grew bitter and cold at this thought, and turned into a soldier who felt nothing but sadness and anger. Then, one day he spotted a girl the same age as him. He didn't think at the time that there was anything special about her, she was just another girl, like any other. He watched her stand up to many boys, inches taller then her, who had already starting training. Either she was nuts or a good fighter, because she didn't show any fear at all. It was then that the little boy decided he like this brave girl.

  
  


The two quickly became friends. They spent all their time together, save that when they wanted to go and hang out with members of the same sex. The young girl, at some point, the boy didn't know when, realized that she loved the young boy, and would do anything from him. Blind as he was, the little boy never saw that in her eyes. In years to come, he would never be able to see it in her eyes, the reason why hidden even from himself. 

  
  


One day, the young boy suffered an accident. The young girl heard about this and risked a lot to go and help him. She even was injured in the act of it all, much to the pain of the young boy. On her way to go help him, the young boy started thinking. He felt so touched at her coming to save him, scared for her, proud of her in her achievement in training, he felt a kaleidoscope of emotions, and this made him realize something. 

  
  


He loved her. The little boy, deep inside his heart, worshipped the ground she walked on. He loved her because she was intelligent, brave, beautiful, caring, respectful, gentle, forgiving, hell, she was perfect to him. If he looked for a hundred years, he would never be able to see a fault within her.

  
  


Even though he knew she loved him back, he couldn't admit her feelings to her. Maybe because he was scared that she would be hurt, but deep inside he knew it was also because he didn't want to be hurt again. 

  
  


Unfortunately, this little boy was screwed up. They both grew up to become a young man and woman, and the young man suddenly had a change of personality. He was so screwed up, however, that he didn't realize that while he thought he was fooling God, he wasn't, and deep inside he was still the same person. That also meant that deep down inside, buried under confusion, hatred, a mask of emotions, and even fear, he still loved that young woman. 

  
  


But by the time he realized it, they were already in the midst of an insane war, and on opposite sides of the war at that. Then he disappeared for two years, but his thoughts constantly turned to her. When he came back, it was a personal goal of his to se wether or not she still had feelings for him. However, all he ended up doing was hurting her, and when he actually succeeded in his mission, there was another war at hand. 

  
  


To his joy, this time they fought beside each other." Milliardo stopped there, noticing his Noin had considerably relaxed in his arms. She had actually buried her head in his chest, and was tightly clutching unto his shirt. "That's all there is to the story now, Noin."

  
  


He looked down and saw that Noin had tears in her eyes, and Milliardo wondered if maybe he'd been totally wrong about this whole thing. He slowly rubbed Noin's back, feeling her relax even more as he did so. If she hadn't looked ready to cry, he knew that Noin would be purring like a kitten. She adored his back rubs. "Don't you see, Noin? I love you! I've loved you for so long, but I was so afraid to say anything! Now, though, now I feel like shouting it on mountain tops, writing it on every single piece of paper I can find, because now I'm not afraid! It took my years, but I've finally sorted my life out all the way, and you were the reason why it's so straight now!" Milliardo excalimed happily. 

  
  


Pulling Noin off of his shirt, he bent down on one knee, and pulled out a small box.He hoped that the ring still fit, he had gotten it years ago, all the way back into his teens. When he found out that he would be heading to the Victoria Base, Zechs Marquise had actually hoped that maybe he could ask Noin then, but it was pushed aside when he realized he'd have a better chance of making her his widow then his wife. 

  
  


Blinking his own tears away, Milliardo opened the box to reveal a small gold wedding band. "Noin, I love you. I know I've hurt you often, and you are so strong to have forgiven me so many times. I love you so much though, that even 'love' seems hollow a word. I often told you that you were mine, and that one day I'd ask you again if you would be mine, and that you'd see what I meant. Noin, will you be mine? Will you become my wife?" 

  
  


"Oh God Zechs... I mean, Milliardo..." Noin wiped away her own tears. This couldn't be real! She had to have just died! Maybe she was in Heaven. Yes, Heaven. That was why her Archangel knelt before her: she had died and was in Heaven. She laughed bitterly. "I don't even know whose asking me. The soldier I haven't seen in years and old friend, Zechs Marquise, or the man who tried to blow up my home, Milliardo Peacecraft." 

  
  


"What does it matter? They are both the same, and both of them loved you with mind, heart, body, and soul." He didn't want to pressure her, but the wait was killing him. Down in his heart, he knew he deserved it. He'd made Noin wait more then seven years, surely he could wait seven minutes.

  
  


Noin bent her head, smirking in her mind. She looked Milliardo square in the eye. 

  
  


"No."

  
  


Milliardo looked down at the snow covered ground dejectedly. He had worried that Noin would say that. He was too late, she wasn't interested in him like that anyway. 'She probably thinks of me like a brother or something now...' He felt Noin's warm fingers tilt his chin up, and he found himself staring into Noin's warm, and impish eyes. 

  
  


"I will not break my promise to you. I will always be your friend. But as to your other request... I accept. I would be crazy not to marry someone like, let alone someone who loved me back as much as I loved him." She let the tears run freely down her face again, and Milliardo kissed them away, as she continued to speak. "I never thought I'd hear you ask me that. I kept wishing and hoping that one day you would tell me you loved me, but I never thought it would take you so long! I started thinking that I'd end up dying some bitter old hermit! I don't know why you would think that I would ever turn you down, and I'm so sorry for saying that I wanted you to leave me alone. Promise me that you'll never leave me alone again! I want to always be by your side!"

  
  


His own tears were brushed away by Noin's hands, as the kissed each other, quick little kisses all over their faces. "I promise. I wouldn't want you to leave my side anyway! We are partners, Noin. I can't do anything without you." 

  
  


She didn't that she'd ever heard him say such a sweet and sincere thing come out of his lips, 'I love you' and 'Marry me' included. Noin smiled brightly as Milliardo kissed her cheek and jaw. "There's so much we are going to have to do though, Milliardo. When are we going to get married? Where? What about your sister? I mean, I may be a member of the Sanc Kingdom, her body guard, and her friend, but you're her brother, and royalty. Would it be proper..." 

  
  


Milliardo frowned. "Fuck being proper. I love you, and if I have to become Zechs Marquise and leave the Sanc Kingdom again just to marry you, then I will. I'm not going to let anything else get in the way of our marriage. War, family, I don't care. I'm going to marry you, Noin!"

  
  


Noin brought her face up to his, kissing him. Never had she loved his recklessness so much. She felt their lips touch, and his tongue entering her mouth. She ran her hands along his chest, feeling that fire she'd miss warm her again. It burned hotter as Milliardo moved his hands down from the small back, around to her hips, and down to her butt as he felt her backside all over. Their breaths together as thier kissing formed a rythym was music to Noin's ears, and she was almost hurt to feel Milliardo pull out of her lips' reach. One hand was on her back, his left hand was by hear arm, half on her breast. She could practically feel Millardo's want for her, his happiness at finally getting to be married to her, and the power she had over him to make him feel that way.

  
  


She tilted her head back as Milliardo brought his head back down, kissing her neck, bitting her and there. He moved both his hands to Noin's back, feeling her melt and moan in pleasure as he made small circles with his fingers. He licked Noin's neck, relishing the taste of her. He felt like a god knowing that she was going to be his, and his alone. "Noin, let's get married tonight..." he whispered. 

  
  


"Tonight?" She repeated, running her hands through his hair. 

  
  


"Yes. It will be perfect. We will be married on the eve of the last war there will ever be. We'll elope. It will be perfectly legal, and we can have a former ceremony later." He said, pulling away from her, and going back to just looking at her. They were going to get married, there would be many, many more times for things like this. 

  
  


"Maybe we could even ask Quatre to use one of his houses." Noin suggested, beginning to like the idea. 

  
  


"Exactly." he whispered happily, carefully running her hair back into place. "There's room on the Tallgeese for two." 

  
  


Noin scrunched up her face, giving him an Eskimo kiss. "I love you. But if we are going to get married, then you should know something." 

  
  


"What's that?"

  
  


"I lied to you."

  
  


"You... you did?" 

  
  


She nodded. "I told you I'd forgive you for anything, but I never for gave you for one thing..." 

  
  


"And was that?" Milliardo asked her curiously. 

  
  


"I never forgave you for eating half my candy stash."

  
  


Milliardo laughed, something he rarely did, and hoped he'd do a lot more of. He swung his arm around Noin's waist, giving her a quick little tickle, making her giggle and squirm. Milliardo held her close, leading her to the Tallgeese III. He talked as he guided her, saying. "I love you Noin, and I'm not afraid who knows it, or who hears it. Let's head to Vegas." 

  
  


Noin laughed at his statement, leaning her head on his shoulder. "It's good that you aren't afraid to say it, because I want to hear a lot more of it. You have years of 'I love you' to catch up. Just... will you at least tell me who I'm marrying?" 

  
  


"My name is Milliardo Peacecraft. And I love you."

Noin smiled, as they stopped infront of the Tallgeese. She pulled his head down to her own and kissed him passionately. "That's all I ever wanted to hear from you."

  
  
  
  


~~~~The End


End file.
